


Desperate Measures

by RustWolf



Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Adventure, Adventure & Romance, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-17
Updated: 2017-04-10
Packaged: 2018-08-31 12:40:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 46,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8578879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RustWolf/pseuds/RustWolf
Summary: What happens when a rescue goes wrong for Virgil and Gordon and they're rendered out of action. Who will pilot 2 and 4? What do two young women, who had never met until they were rescued got to do with it?





	1. A Little Author's Note

Thought I would give a little preface for a little background info. For the longest time I've loved Thunderbirds and have completely fallen in love with the new reboot. I love watching the differences between TOS and TAG. In fact I've been binge watching both a bit lately and it inspired me to write something. Now it's been a good long time since I last actually sat down and wrote fan-fiction, so you may have to forgive me a little if I'm slow at updating or a little off character. So hopefully you enjoy this. I digress, back to the background info. As I'm torn between the TOS and TAG universe I've set it in a somewhat alternative universe between TOS and TAG. Pre Jeff going missing but keeping a few character nuances from the original series. So as such Tin-Tin remains as Tin-Tin though a bit more of a mix between TOS and TAG incarnations of her. Kyrano is also alive for the moment. Thunderbird Shadow has not yet come into existence. The age order of the brothers in this one follows as Scott, Virgil, John, Gordon, Alan for the sake of my sanity. :P The birds themselves are the TAG incarnations, however in a throw back to TOS they are arm with guns. Two characters of my own creation set the story off and while I'll try to have everyone star as much as possible this work of fiction is mostly set around Gordon, Virgil and my two girls, but it is also very much a Tracy brothers story too. What can I say I'm a sucker for a good romance with action, adventure and family. If you have any questions just shoot through a message and I'll do my best to answer them when I post the next chapter. For now without further ado I'll leave you to the first chapter of the story and hope you enjoy it.


	2. Disaster

Lucia had not exactly planned this holiday out, but unfortunate events had seen her given time off work. She had been encouraged to go take a holiday to relax and that they would see her when she returned back to work. So here she was at Kingsford Smith International Airport, plane ticket in hand ready to fly off to some island paradise. Her dark brown hair swayed against the nape of her neck from where it had been pulled up into a ponytail as she walked through the airport towards her terminal, her green eyes surveying the area until she came to an empty seat by the boarding gate to occupy. Leaning back into her seat she pulled out a book to occupy her time with, trying to ignore the shaking in her hands. Perhaps doing this had not been such a good idea, she never was very good outside of work. Was too late now though, she told herself. After all it was her fault that outside of work she had never done any travelling, let alone left the country (except perhaps for that one stint in NZ, but that was for work too). More than anything the thought of flying on an unfamiliar aircraft and putting her life into the hands of a complete stranger was a rather daunting prospect. Ah there were her nerves trying to get to her again and she reminded herself that strangers put their lives into her hands every day when she was working. She just had to have some faith, if anything she wished she could have been as excited about this trip as the young woman sitting on a seat not that far from herself appeared to be.

 

* * *

 

 

Ellie had barely had any sleep she was so excited for this trip, it might have been winter but that was the offseason for her. She was due back at work come summer and the job that she had lined up for the offseason meant that she was finally able to book the holiday she had been desperately saving for. Would be nice to have some time to just relax and unwind, to not have anyone rely on you for once. This wasn’t the first time she had gone overseas, certainly wouldn’t be her last and she was just as excited as the first time. Adventure awaited and she really couldn’t wait to get on the plane. Her light brown hair was streaked through with blonde from the sun and salt water and sat in a messy braid that bounced over one of her shoulders with her excitement. She could barely keep herself sitting still in her chair, let alone sit and read a book. Instead her grey blue eyes were riveted to the boarding gates, eagerly awaiting the call.

 

* * *

 

 

“Flight HA452 is now boarding at Gate 9”

 

Well that was it, Lucia thought. Time to board this sucker before she really did chicken out last minute. She couldn’t help but notice how quickly the girl she had been distracted from her book by reached the gate. If only she could be this enthused about the whole trip. Finally peeling herself up from her seat, Lucia made her way to the boarding gate. It had been a last minute decision to bring along her violin for the holiday but she had been immensely thankful the airline had allowed her to bring it on as carry on instead of checking it in. She grasped the handle of the case a little tighter as she made her way down the boarding tunnel and stepped onto the spacious plane. Her feet felt heavier with every step she took until she finally arrived at her seat. With a final stroke to the case of her beloved violin she slipped it into the overhead storage compartment and took her seat, nervously beginning to twist her hands after she fastened her seat belt.

 

“First time flying?”

 

Lucia had not been expecting the owner of the voice to be the girl she had been watching at the boarding gate. In fact when Lucia had sat down, she had not even stopped to look at who her seat mate would be. Perhaps talking would keep her mind of her nerves, it couldn’t hurt to try it and this girl seemed like she would make an active enough conversational partner.  


“No, no it’s not.” Lucia replied shaking her head, “Ahh just nerves then.” came the quick reply from the girl beside her and Lucia nodded, “Maybe I can keep you mind of that, I’m Ellie.” Lucia found herself with a hand proffered in her direction and she found herself taking it, “Lucia, and I’d really appreciate that Ellie.” she replied feeling a little more at ease over the fact she was no longer solely responsible for keeping her nerves in check. “Wow you really are shaking, weren’t kidding about those nerves were you.” If there was one strength Ellie had it was that she was straightforward and to the point, Lucia found herself both appreciating and admiring the trait. She herself wasn’t quite so straightforward outside of work.

 

“So what brings to travelling to the sunny island of Hawaii?” Ellie kept the questions coming and Lucia found herself an eager participant in the conversation. “Holiday from work, though I fear getting there may be more stressful than work itself.” Lucia found herself musing dryly with a laugh. “Ha, I know what you mean. I’m offseason at the moment and the work I had lined up, didn’t. So finally got to take this trip, almost didn’t think I would get everything together in time before I left.” Ellie chuckled as the announcement came overhead that the plane was now about to taxi to the runway for take off. There they were again, the nerves were back and Lucia swallowed hard. “Usually I’m the one flying or know who’s flying.” she confessed to Ellie who smiled and held out her hand, “Feel free to hold it as tightly as you want.” she offered.

 

Lucia found herself releasing the breath she had been holding and took Ellie’s hand and squeezed tightly, finding comfort when the girl squeezed back. “Yeah it’s hard to hand over the reins to someone else, when you’re used to it a certain way.” Ellie sympathised, she knew in her line of work it wasn’t easy to admit help and people often wouldn’t do it until it was almost too late.. There was a roar of the engines and then they were off, it was a smooth take off and they reached cruising altitude and speed in the same orderly fashion. When the seatbelt sign flicked off, Lucia breathed a sigh of relief and released Ellie’s hand. “Thanks, you really saved me back there.” her voice was genuinely appreciative and Lucia was greeted with a bright smile from Ellie in return.

 

So engrossed in conversation with one another neither girl had realised something was amiss on the plane until it suddenly went quiet and then began to descend. This time Lucia found it was Ellie who gripped her hand tightly amid the screams that had begun to fill the cabin. A brief glance out the window confirmed to Lucia they were indeed going down over the ocean, not a speck of land in sight. One of the flight attendants called “Brace for impact” and the plane went silent again, never once did Lucia and Ellie let go of each other’s hand.

There was an almighty thud and a slap of water before the plane finally coasted to a stop atop the ocean. It was floating for now but who knew how much longer they had until they were under. Cautiously Lucia and Ellie sat back up again, the flight attendants had left their seats and were checking everyone. Lucia could see one trying to call the flight deck but was getting no response and neither did trying to open the door to them. That’s when they heard the whispers, none of the doors were working. By all rights the front and rear passenger doors should be able to be manually opened to but they weren’t budging. Lucia looked at Ellie and knew they had to do something to fight the rising panic. “It’s alright, International Rescue should be on their way to help us.” Ellie piped up as cheerfully as she could manage unclipping her seatbelt to notice water beginning to cover the floor.

 

Lucia did the same standing she asked the flight attendants if anyone needed medical assistance. There wasn’t much she could do for getting them out but she could do that at least, in work mode she was safe, in work mode she was focused and calm. There were a few passengers who had broken bones or head wounds from impact or an incorrect brace position but for the most part everyone was in no life threatening condition. Aside from the fact they were stuck in a sinking tin can so to say and no one had a can opener. “Say Lucia, I never did ask what you did as a job.” It was Ellie’s call from beside her that made her look up at her new found friend from bandaging the bleeding head wound of a young boy. “Rescue Paramedic, did a stint of nursing for a while too. What about you, you mentioned being offseason?” Lucia shot back as she gave the young boy a smile finishing up his bandage, “there you go, still handsome as ever.” she grinned, waving off the thanks of the mother. “Beach Lifeguard, I usually only work the summer, only a few of us stay on during the winter.” came Ellie’s reply as she moved on to providing first aid to the next person.  
  
“Ah, I take it you’re a good swimmer then.” Lucia remarked as they calmed people into not prematurely deploying their life jackets, it had been a small flight for such a big plane.  “Not world class but I manage. I fancy you would be yourself, Miss fancy rescue medic.” came Ellie’s reply. “Ha not as great as you think, I only barely passed the swimming requirements.”

 

Further conversation was halted at the thudding sounds of magnets hitting the exterior of the plane, the flow of water began to halt and there was a hissing noise at the rear ceiling of the plane where it had been lifted up mostly out of the water. It was Lucia who found herself the only one brave enough to approach the noise as there wasn’t much to be seen out the windows. A hole in the ceiling appeared when part of the plane was removed, she was stunned silent for a moment when a face came over the hole.

 

“This is International Rescue, is everyone okay?”

 

* * *

 

 

It had been a relatively peaceful day at Tracy Island, Scott had done his morning run before settling into a game of chess with Gordon. Alan had gone up in 3 to deliver some needed supplies to John and help with some maintenance on 5 while he was up there. Virgil had taken to playing the piano while Jeff sat at his desk going through some needed paperwork. Kyrano and Tin-Tin had been preparing lunch when John popped up.

“Father, there's a bit of a situation in the Pacific Ocean, I received a distress call from Flight HA452 bound for Honolulu. It appears both engines cut out and they won’t make it anywhere near land. I’ve projected the location of where they’ll ditch in the water but I haven’t been able to regain contact with them.”

 

“Thank you John.” Came Jeff Tracy’s reply as he looked towards his son’s who had gathered at the call. “Scott I’ll need you and 1 out to survey the scene and report, Virgil I need you in 2 to get the passengers out, we’ll need Thunderbird 4 to help stabilise the craft until Virgil has everyone out if they plane hasn’t yet gone under water.”

 

“FAB Father.” Came Scott’s reply as they all darted to their respective places to get down to their craft. It didn’t take long for them to be airborne and on route to John’s projected crash location. Scott arrived first to find the plane still afloat, “International rescue calling flight HA452, do you respond?” he tried their comms, he received nothing in response so he tried again before contacting his father. “Father, I’ve arrived, the plane is still afloat but they aren’t responding to my calls and there are no rafts deployed.”  
  
“Thank you Scott, How long until Virgil arrives?”

 

“Should be there any minute now, Father” came Virgil’s reply as he came into view for Scott.

 

“Good, drop 4 and get 1 to help you stabilise the plane so you can check for survivors.”

 

“FAB” came the standard response as Scott affixed a line to the nose of the craft while after dropping the pod a safe distance away to deploy moved, 2 into place to fire the four magnets to help lift the plane further out of the water.

 

“Thunderbird 4 is in position, Virgil I can see movement in the plane.” Gordon radioed in as he position 4 in the middle of the plane and clamped on to keep it stable between the pulling forces of 2 and 1.

 

“FAB Gordon, switching 2 to auto pilot. I’m going down.” Virgil responded as he flicked a few switches and adjusted the throttle before he left his seat to take the rescue seats down to the plane. “Woah.” He teetered a bit as he stepped onto the top of the plane. “Careful there Virgil, if you go over with that suit on you’ll sink like a stone.” Came Scotts warning as he adjusted 1’s angle.

 

“Just getting my sea legs big brother.” came Virgil’s smart retort. “Now, how’s about we crack open this tin can and see what we have inside.” he murmured to himself as he began to use his laser to cut a large hole in the roof. Pulling the fuselage back he peered into the hole to find a woman with dark brown hair and green eyes staring up at him.

 

 


	3. Rescue Gone Awry

“We’re okay, mighty glad to see you though.” It was Ellie who answered as she looked up the hole, this was enough to kick Lucia back into work mode. “Not much more than a few broken bones, concussions and lacerations. I’ll be easiest if we pass everyone out up to you.” Lucia interjected before Virgil could jump down into the cabin. “I don’t know what you’re doing down there Virgil but if there are any survivors you need to move them pronto, I don’t think she’ll hold together much longer.” it was Scott’s voice over the radio that affirmed Lucia’s way was the best. “We have survivors, extracting now Thunderbird 1” Virgil replied as he leant in to hold a hand forwards, “Alrighty then, we better get a move on.” was all he could manage in the face of being presented with an unusually calm situation.

 

Lucia turned towards Ellie as the hand came down, “We’ll need someone to go up first to help.” her eyes turned over a few passengers who were bordering on shock, “We’ll need the delicate handling two people can provide for some of them.” When everyone knew of Lucia’s qualifications it became an almost unanimous decision for her to make the call on getting them out. After all she was the one with the experience. “I’ll stay behind, Stronger swimmer remember.” Ellie winked at Lucia before she linked her hands over one of her knees. “I’ll give you a boost up, I can get one of the attendants to help me pass everyone up.” she added having the calm of someone who was confident in her skills.

 

“See you topside then” Were Lucia’s last words to Ellie as with a boost she grabbed onto Virgil’s and let him pull her up.  She had to shield her eyes against the sun when she was pulled clear of the wreckage but once she had climbed out with the help of Virgil she let go of him and turned, calling down the hole before he could say anything. “Alright Ellie, send up the young boy and his mother first.” she was in full fledged work mode as she reached her hand inside for the boy. “This is Daniel, he’s 7 and he had a bit of a knock to the head, his mother Sally broke her arm in the crash.” yep, work mode. It had not taken her long to find out the names and ages of the passengers as she attended them while waiting for rescue.

 

Virgil had been about to radio something to Scott about the rescue practically conducting itself without them, when he heard Lucia handing off the passengers to him. He turned to find her pulling up the young boy whose head had already been tended, kneeling beside her he helped pull Daniel up before carrying him to the waiting rescue seats and strapped him in. Daniel’s mother Sally was next and with only one good arm, it became clear to Virgil that for a few of the passengers double handling was needed to get them out. After strapping in Sally next to her son he knelt down beside Lucia again, “So, do this often?” he queried helping up the next passenger of the flight. “What? Get trapped in sinking planes? I try not to” Lucia replied with a laugh as they pulled up the next passenger. The rescue was proceeded faster than either expected and very quickly they were just down to Ellie and the flight attendant remaining in the plane when the lights turned out within the cabin. Lucia could hear muffled talking before hearing Ellie’s voice yell out to her, “I’m sending Michael up, says he can’t swim. I’ll go see if I can get to the pilots now the power is out.” Lucia reached out to grab Michael's hand and with Ellie’s help began to pull him up. “Be careful Ellie.” was all Lucia could reply with before Ellie disappeared from sight.

 

“Virgil, I don’t think she’s going to hold much longer” it was Gordon who radioed in this time with concern when he began to see cracks forming in the fuselage. “Almost done here Gordon, two more and we are out of here.”

 

 Lucia could hear Virgil’s voice behind her as she pulled Michael up out of the hole, she was about to turn to say something to him when she heard a groan. This was not an unfamiliar sound to her ears and fear struck her heart, she looked around and saw one of the magnets from two begin to shudder. “Look out” she yelled as she pinned Michael to the plane and covered him, “Virgil! Watch out!” came Scott’s voice at the same time as there was a hideous creak before the sound of tearing metal as one of the magnetic clamps came flying free when part of the plane gave way. Virgil only had time to turn towards the sound before the magnet came flying at him. There was little much else to do but watch in horror as the side of the magnet swept past him before retracting back up into 2. There was no sigh of relief breathed however as he had not been missed, instead he had been thrown by the magnet to the ground and was rapidly sliding towards the water as the plane lurched under the loss of support. Scrambling to her feet Lucia raced down the plane sliding in to grab Virgil’s right arm before he slipped over the edge. There was a moment when Lucia felt herself slipping under Virgil’s weight but it just made her pull all the harder, there was crackled static and voice over the radio from a frantic Scott and Gordon and she could only make out words here and there.

 

“Heaven’s sake Michael don’t just sit there, get into the seat with the others.” Lucia barked at Michael who sat trembling where she left him. The message seemed to get through and as Michael scrambled to get himself into one of the seats where everyone was waiting with baited breath, eyes on Lucia and the fallen man from International Rescue. It didn’t look like he was bleeding, which was both good but without getting a look under his suit it could also be bad if it was internal. He was still breathing to, she was relieved to notice. There was a crack in the side of his helmet and the shoulder of his harness had appeared to take the brunt of the damage. Very carefully Lucia removed his helmet to better see his face, good. There was no visible damage there either and from the feel nothing broken either. Working down she felt his neck, all good there until she moved to the shoulder. There was a groan from Virgil as she inspected it as best she could, “Hey there cowboy, welcome back to the land of the living” she said when she saw his eyes fluttering and begin to open again.

 

He didn't know how long he had been out for, last he remembered was sliding towards the water before he blacked out from the pain. That's right the pain and right now his entire left side felt like it was on fire. Still he had a job to do and no amount of pain was going to stop him from completing the mission. Especially not when they needed to get off the plane as soon as they possibly could. There was nothing left to do really but grit his teeth against the increase in pain and force himself  to get up.“Whoa there, just keep still a moment” Lucia pressed down on Virgil’s right shoulder when he tried getting up, she didn’t have to use much force as it appeared the pain had him slump back down. “I think you may have a broken collarbone, does it hurt anywhere else?” it would be much faster if he could tell her himself, there was a cough and another loud groan from Virgil before he gave her a reply in a raspy voice. “Arm, ribs” it was short but it was the information she needed, “I’m really sorry about this” Lucia apologised as she first felt his ribs. They felt stable which was good, an x-ray would give better insight into whether they were broken or not but that would have to wait. Now that she got a better look, his left arm didn’t quite look right. A quick but thorough inspection of that revealed it was almost certainly broken. “Hey you still with me” Lucia called as she put a hand on his cheek to refocus him back to her, “Yeah, still here.” Came Virgil’s raspy reply, “Rightio mate, well I’m going to move your arm here to help stabilise it and then we are going to try sitting up okay?” Lucia kept her voice as calmly as she could when she realised his radio had gone silent. “FAB” came the reply and as much as she knew it would hurt Lucia moved his arm as carefully as she could and tucked it under the harness as she did. Repositioning herself she grasped his other hand tightly and slid her other hand behind his good shoulder, “On the count of three, I’m going to help you sit up. 1, 2…..” she paused for a moment letting him refocus and get ready. She knew this wasn’t going to be pain free. “3” Moving with him and taking most of the strain she brought Virgil up to a sitting position, trying to ignore the noises the fuselage of the plane was making.

 

“Man that hurts” the tone of voice made Lucia chuckle, “I’ll bet it does mate, we should get you up to the ship before they have a panic attack. Ready to try standing?” she asked but not before she heard a voice behind her.

 

“Hey there, need a hand?”

 

* * *

 

 

“Virgil! Watch Out!”

 

Gordon heard Scott’s cry over the radio and he felt terror strike his heart not being able to see what was going on up there. “Scott, what’s going on? Is Virgil okay?” he yelled down the com as Scott kept yelling Virgil’s name. It sounded like he had been hurt and not the run of the mill rescue cuts and bruises but actual seriously hurt. “Hey big brother! What’s going on?” he yelled again when he got no response. This time Scott replied to him, “He’s been hit Gordon. One of 2’s clamps broke free with some of the plane, he was right in the path.” it was not the news Gordon had been wanting to hear. “Is he okay?” he asked Scott, “Hey Virge, you still kicking?” he tried Virgil’s com but all he got was broken static and bits and pieces of a woman’s voice. “Scott, I’m going up. The plane is starting to disintegrate, who knows when the next clamp is going to go.” Gordon was already out the hatch before Scott could make a complaint, they were running on borrowed time now, who knew when the plane was going to completely fall apart. It didn’t take much to get up the side of the plane but what he saw when he got up froze him to the spot for several moments.

 

He could see Virgil ahead of him sprawled on the top of the plane, a woman by his side tending to him. Gordon breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Virgil was conscious again and watched the woman assist him to sit up. “Man that hurts” he chuckled internally at Virgil’s assessment, “I’ll bet it does mate, we should get you up to the ship before they have a panic attack. Ready to try standing?” he could hear the accent in the woman’s voice, she was right about panicking that’s for sure. “Hey there, need a hand?” he offered kneeling next to her, couldn’t let the one’s he came to rescue to all the work after all, that was their job.

 

Lucia found herself face to face with Gordon as he knelt next to her, “Still kicking there big brother?” he asked Virgil with a grin. “Can’t get rid of me that easy Gordo.” came the terse but affectionate reply. There was a snigger of laughter from Lucia before she indicated to Virgil’s good side. “I’ll never say no to a helping hand, but easy does it. Won’t be long now and I can get you something for that pain.” she could only assume a rescue operation as big as them would have some form of medical supplies onboard. “Hear that Virge, you’re going to get the good stuff and from a pretty lady too.” Lucia had to smother another laugh as Gordon winked at her, perhaps this holiday wasn’t such a bad thing after all despite the crash of course. Though she wouldn’t admit it outloud she was probably the lucky one getting to attend them. “Count of 3 again and then easy does it. 1, 2…..” Lucia paused again “3”. It was far easier to get Virgil to his feet with Gordon’s help and though it was slow going they made it to the rescue seats and had eased him into one.

 

“Alright you can calm down now Mama bear, I can pilot 4 from here back to the pod and come up to pilot 2…” Gordon had finally decided answer the paranoid Scott on his shoulder now that everything was under control, that was until Lucia interjected. “Ellie’s gone back for the pilots, until the power went out we couldn’t find out if they were okay.” there was silence between everyone for a moment. Gordon suggested he could go back in, he had enough space for Ellie and the pilots, but then who would fly two to the pod. Scott suggested he could come down but was vetoed, they needed him to stay put. It was too risky to move 1 yet especially as he was at the nose where Ellie was, plus they needed someone with eyes on the clamps. Virgil suggested he could remotely pilot 2 to the pod after all he still had one good arm and Gordon could fly from there. Before Lucia could say anything they had decided on the plan and Gordon had leapt down the hole she had not long exited with a salute. There was a groan from the plane and also from Virgil next to her as he tapped a few things on his wrist pad which had escaped harm. “Hold on” came the voice beside her as they began to lift into the air and into the nose of Thunderbird 2. The door closed below them and the harnesses opened allowing them out of the seats.

 

It was easier now for Virgil to get around despite the pain, now he was upright. “Alright everyone we aren’t out of the woods yet.” Ouch, even speaking was painful just standing there but even injured he couldn’t neglect his duties. “It’ll be alright, you’ve all done so well so far. Not much longer now.” it was Lucia’s clear voice he noticed first as she directed them to where they could buckle in safely. He couldn’t do much as every step was agony but even he found himself appreciating the assistance. “Right, now let’s get you to this cockpit. I’ll assume you’ve medical supplies up there.” perhaps he had thought too soon as she turned to him and placed a hand on his good shoulder. She certainly wasn’t going to take no for an answer and he couldn’t object the fact and say he could do it himself. He sighed and tapped on his wrist pad, bringing down the lift to get him to the cockpit, “Coming?” he asked moving as quickly as he could to the pad. She could see the pain on his face he was desperate to hide, she certainly didn’t need to be asked twice and she moved to stand beside him. Another tap on his wrist pad and they were moving up, she turned and gave a quick thumbs up to the passengers to let them know it was all going to be okay before she couldn’t see them anymore. The cockpit was more spacious than she expected, it was also very clearly marked and it didn’t take much to find the supplies as Virgil eased himself into the pilot's seat with a loud groan.

 

“Give me your hand.”

 

It sounded less as a request and more like and order and turning he found Lucia hovering beside him needle in hand. “Don’t give me that look, you know what you have on this ship. You can see the dosage,” Lucia clearly showed him the amount she had in the needle, “If I managed to get on a plane and trust my life to someone I didn’t know. Something I’ve never done in my life, I think you can trust me to do my job.” There was a chuckle from Virgil followed by noise of pain, “Poor analogy, you trusted the wrong pilot.” but he complied with what she had said and held out his hand anyway. It was Lucia’s turn to laugh, “Next time I’ll fly myself.” she replied with a wink as she administered the pain relievers and moved to dispose of the syringe and retrieve the sling to provide a brace for his arm. With the sling on he definitely couldn’t fly Virgil realised with a sigh, he was officially useless in this rescue now. At least the pain meds were kicking in, all he could do was pray the plane would hold together and the clamps would hold until Gordon was free. His prayers fell short as the second clamp broke free of the plan sending it and 2 lurching, thankfully before he could reach for the controls the autopilot kicked in and stabilised them.

 

Lucia braced herself against Virgil’s chair as the second clamp snapped, she knew she would likely be breaking all sorts of rules with what she was about to do but she saw little choice. She had jumped into the co-pilots place, hands on the yoke she looked around trying to familiarise herself with the set up. “Thunderbird 2, what’s going on down there?” the voice made her look up and she found herself looking at the hologram of another International Rescue member. “Geez Virgil, what happened?” he asked with concern as he noticed Virgil’s arm in the sling. “In short, magnet came off, he got hit. I hope Ellie gets out of there soon, plane is falling apart as we speak.” It was Lucia that piped up, though now that she had she kind of wished she had not when the attention turned to her. “Virgil, who is this and why is she sitting there?” John asked, “Lucia Anderson, I was one of the passengers.” it was Lucia who had supplied her name, “‘Apparently she can fly” came Virgil’s addition. “Ahh, and Ellie is?” he queried further, “Another passenger, she volunteered to be last out. She was the strongest swimmer out of us. She went back to see if she could get to the pilots.” Lucia added eyes still familiarising herself with the dash around her. So far aside from some controls she had absolutely no idea about the basics appeared to be the same. “Gordon went in after her” Virgil supplied before John could ask why someone was left within the plane still. “He better make it quick then, I don’t think the plane will hold together much longer.” As if to confirm what John had said there was an almighty groan and a snap from outside, another clamp had broken. There was a sickening crunch to the hull though as the drop in altitude from 2 snapped the cable up into her nose.

 

A large chunk of the plane had broken off under the tension of the clamp colliding with the nose of 2. Very quickly she began to lose altitude and Virgil reached for the controls despite the pain that came back to remind him of his situation. “Don’t even think about it” came the voice beside him as 2 suddenly stopped dropping. Lucia had pulled back on the yoke and increased the thrust to level her out before adjusting it, “Whoa, there” she muttered to herself as she leveled them out best she could without putting too much strain on the remaining clamp. “Apparently I can fly.” she added with a dry laugh, using Virgil’s own words against him. “Apparently so.” was all he could manage as he tried initiating autopilot again. The error light blinked at him and he swore under his breath, “Let me guess, that hit fried the auto pilot? Are the coms okay?” Lucia remained with her hands on the controls, this was far and away different than what she was used to flying. Heavy yes but the handling was better than the aircraft she was more familiar with. “Virgil! What’s going on in there, I just saw 2 get hit. You alright?” Well that answered her question about communications when Scott’s voice came over the radio. “We’re just peachy, Big Brother. Auto pilot is out, so is long range communications. So send our condolences to John would you.” Now the pain medication had kicked in talking and breathing was almost bearable if he didn’t move around to much. “We? I haven’t seen Gordon com up.” Scott didn’t think Virgil could fly 2 judging by the state he had seen him in and Gordon was the only other person with them who knew how to fly 2 besides himself. So who the hell was in there with him. “Lucia has command of the big bird for me.” came Virgil’s almost petulant reply, “Lucia?” Scott queried back when he heard a new voice over the com. “That would be me, apparently I can fly.” there was a muffled sound of laughter, “I’m not living that one down am I.” he could hear Virgil in the background, “It’s okay it’ll be our little secret.” Lucia bantered back. “I owe you our thanks then Lucia. You’re doing good from here so just try keep her level until Gordon gets out.” this time it was Virgil who replied, “FAB Scott.”

 

“FAB? What does that even stand for?” Lucia asked Virgil as they ended the conversation with Scott. There was a cough of laughter from Virgil, “Just how we end communications” was really the only answer he could give. “Right, if you’re up for it. I need a crash course in flying the big bird.” She was in control, she was in her safe place in work mode. She could fall apart later when all this was over. “Well you have the basics under control…” Virgil started, they had only just started going over basic controls when they heard Gordon’s panicked voice over the com.   
  



	4. Surely it can't get worse

One by one Ellie sent the passengers up to Lucia, and slowly the water level rose within the plane. She could see the ever growing panic on the face of the flight attendant who had been helping her, Michael it was if she had his name remembered. “Do you want to go up first?” Ellie queried as they passed up the last of the passengers, “ahh.. No. no you go. We are supposed to be last.” he replied stuttering, eyes down watching the water. Judging by that expression Ellie had a feeling she knew why he was so nervous. “Can’t swim?” she asked with a smile, reaching out she placed a hand on his shoulder when he nodded his head sadly. “It’s alright, you go up first. Swimming is part of my job so I’ll be fine. You’ve done well to make it this far.” she reassured him before looking up to see Lucia again over the hole as the power went out. “I’m sending Michael up, says he can’t swim. I’ll go see if I can get to the pilots now the power is out.” Ellie yelled up to Lucia, she had made up her mind the moment the power went out. Turning to Michael she joined her hands and lowered them to her knee, “Up you go. I’ll see you soon” she gave him her brightest smile before she boosted him up to Lucia’s waiting hands. As soon as Ellie knew she had him, she turned to break into a run down the aisle towards the pilot's cabin. She didn’t hear Lucia’s call behind her to be careful.

 

At the first groan that ran through the plane Ellie stopped and listened. There was a sound of twisting metal and the plane gave an almighty lurch to one side at the same time as a loud bang sounded. From within the plane Ellie braced herself against a seat, completely oblivious to the chaos going on above her. The plane went eerily quiet again, every movement Ellie made was amplified within the space. A quick look behind her and she could see the water level rising faster, she really didn’t have that much time. Breathing in deeply she moved towards the cockpit again, this time keeping her hands on the seats in case another clamp came free. She breathed a sigh of relief when she made it to the cockpit before another clamp disengaged, at least now the power was out. If she recalled correctly from one of the attendants the cockpit could be opened manually when the power went out. Until then it was locked and this time none of the attendants knew the passcode to get in while the power was on. Reaching for the manual release she gave it a tug to the left, there was a creak and a thunk as it disengaged and with an almighty push the door opened.

 

Ellie braced herself against the door as her stomach heaved against the sight, she had seen dead bodies before but usually they were drowning victims and on the odd occasion ones that had resurfaced after bloating. But this, this was different. Blood was spattered to every crevice within the cockpit, both pilots unrecognisable. It appeared there had been a fight after the plane had crashed, none of them would have known. With the cockpit entirely soundproofed, Ellie was horrified to realise that while she and Lucia were tending the passengers that the pilots had likely been tearing each other apart. Now that her stomach had stopped rebelling and she had steeled herself, Ellie took a look around the cockpit. There on the dash sat a very out of place box, bright red numbers counting down. Ellie didn’t need to think twice to know exactly what it was and how quickly she needed to get out, now she understood why there was so much blood.

 

“Hey there, ready to get out of here?”

 

The voice behind her in the eerie dark stillness of the cabin that was only broken up by the groaning of the plane as it destabilised startled her. Ellie screamed in horror, wheeling around to come face to face with Gordon. Her heart was hammering in her chest and by the look of concern on his face she was almost certain she had gone white as a sheet. “Ellie is it?” Gordon asked her tentatively, he had certainly not quite expected that response to him coming to her rescue. All Ellie could do was nod in response, hand on her chest as she tried to calm herself. “Alright now Ellie, I want you to take a few deep breaths while I go check on the pilots, then we can get out of here okay?” Gordon’s voice was smooth and comforting, about the only time he didn’t crack horrid jokes was when he was in the middle of rescuing someone. “I wouldn’t, they’re dead and there’s a bomb.” she replied, reaching out to grab his arm before he walked in there and saw the carnage. Gordon placed a hand over the one Ellie placed on his arm and squeezed it gently, before he moved past her to peer into the cockpit. The bomb caught his eyes first so he didn’t get much of a look of anything else but on seeing the blood he could only guess that’s why she was so white. Right now though they needed to get out of there, turning back around he found Ellie was already making her way towards the escape hatch. “This is Thunderbird 4, to Thunderbird 1. I’ve got the last passenger, she’s okay….” before Gordon had the chance to tell Scott about the pilots and the bomb there was a tearing noise and a crack sending the plane lurching again. He reached for Ellie as she stumbled and pulled her back against him as one of the overhead compartments sprung open and the bags contained within them fell out, landing where she had been standing with a splash.

 

“Thanks.” came Ellie’s words of gratitude, the plane had begun to get quite the lean on it and between the luggage now blocking their path and complicating their exit, the water was also rising again too. Together they maneuvered themselves through the seats to the next aisle, it didn’t look quite as blocked and right now they couldn’t afford to waste any more time in getting out. “I heard you’re quite the swimmer” Gordon broke the silence, he hated silence more than anything and prefered to keep his rescuees talking. He didn’t expect the laugh that Ellie graced him with, “Guess so, nothing fancy, just a beach lifeguard.” she replied as they wiggled between the last few seats and began to move down the narrow aisle again. “That explains why you volunteered to stay back.” Gordon replied as he tailed Ellie closely behind her. “Yeah well I couldn’t let Michael stay, poor guy can’t swim. Wasn’t a hard choice to make” Ellie responded as they neared the exit. He didn’t have a chance to answer as the plane jolted again and with a popping and ripping noise another clamp broke free. This time for a brief moment, Ellie and Gordon saw blue sky. As the plane began to roll on them and water began to gush into the cabin at high speed, Gordon grabbed Ellie and pulled her close to his body as the torrent of water hit them. Ellie held her breath as the wall of water hit them when it rushed in and the plane began to roll, she had no reason to feel scared with those arms wrapped around her. Their progress to escape thwarted as the water pushed them deeper back into the plane, slamming Gordon back first against the corner of the small hall that lead to the cockpit door. There was a scream in her ears and it took Ellie a moment to realise that it had not come from inside her head.

 

“Guys? I..I can’t feel anything. I.. I can’t feel my legs. Scott, I can’t feel anything.” Gordon stammered in a panic, there had been a blast of pain and in that moment all the memories of his crash came flooding back. Of course he couldn’t remember the crash itself but he remembered it going dark and the pain. The pain was intense but it wasn’t the worst. It was the feeling nothing that was scarier than any pain. Four long months he had spent in that hospital bed after his crash, been told he would never walk again. Well he showed them that but now he wasn’t so sure. He couldn’t feel anything, what if this time he really couldn’t walk again, what if this time he really had paralyzed himself. “Can’t.. I can’t breathe.” the panic was escalating higher and no amount of training could have prepared any of them for this. “I can’t feel anything Virge” his words were punctuated with gasping breaths as he literally felt like he couldn’t breath. They were going to drown, after all he couldn’t get them out if he was paralyzed.

 

Tap. Tap. tap tap tap. Tap

 

The ocean water stung her eyes but Ellie forced them open as she heard Gordon behind her, thankfully the cabin had filled quickly with water and she was able to turn around to face him. If he really couldn’t feel anything she couldn’t shake him and squeezing his hand didn’t seem to have an affect so she began tapping a rhythm on his helmet in front of his face. It seem to work as his panic stricken face turned to make eye contact with hers. ‘Come on, let’s get out of here. It’ll be okay.’ she spoke with her eyes, giving him her best underwater smile and a nod. She could hear the voices of whom she could only assume was Scott and Virge over his radio, a quick look around and she disengaged herself from his arms and swam behind him, using her own body to support him in the water as she swam towards the gaping big hole in the side of the plane. Well that was certainly easier to exit through than the hole that had been cut for them, lot easier to swim out too now that the obstacles had been cleared out. Swimming free of the wreckage she was glad for the clamps that were still there, would have been much harder then she reckoned to swim out when the plane had been sinking at the same time. She really didn’t want to look down and think about it. Despite her blurry water filled vision she made out thunderbird 4 attached to the side of the wreckage. Well that certainly explained why the tear from that last chunk of plane only went so far. Was certainly closer to them than the surface too, “Swim to 4” she heard the wheezy voice in her arms. Well she wasn’t going to argue with that, but her lungs were beginning to burn from holding her breath so long. With one last spurt she propelled them to the read of 4 and marveled as the rear hatch opened up. Slipping inside she pressed a few buttons she swore she heard Gordon say and was pleasantly surprised when a bed flipped out as the rear hatch closed and the water began to drain. She had him on the bed before the water had dropped too low for her to move him, taking in a nice deep breath the moment her head was out of the water. There were some things she didn’t need directions for as she found the first aid kid and was pleased to find a neck collar within it. Easing off his helmet she fastened the collar around his neck and strapped him in. She stood beside him in silence for a long moment, she was stuck for what to say. She had remembered all her spinal training but gee she wished Lucia was here, she had far more expertise in this than her.

 

“Gordon, Gordon come in. You okay little brother?” It was Scott who broke the silence over the coms. Ellie could see the panic beginning to rise in Gordon’s face again and she reached out and put a hand on his cheek. “It’ll be okay, just take a few breaths first. I need you to stay calm for me.” There was a strangled laugh from Gordon, great now his own words were being used on him. “Pretty sure my backs broken, but at least I’ve got the company of a pretty lady” he replied to Scott with a cough, “Don’t you move an inch little brother, I’ll come down to pilot 4 back.” was Scott’s overly concerned reply. Gordon noticed Ellie’s eyes go wide with realisation as she looked at him, he saw her mouth the word ‘bomb’ as for a brief moment the pair had forgotten about it. “We don’t have time for that Thunderbird 1, there’s a bomb aboard the ship. As soon as we’re clear of the wreck release the clamps, it won’t be pretty if that thing goes off near the surface.” Gordon shot back, hoping Scott had not gone and done something stupid like jump in yet. “I can try piloting if you tell me what to do?” Ellie suggested and judging by the silence between Scott’s messages, it appeared he had likely been halfway through a plan to get to them. “Can Ellie pilot 4? Lucia has control of 2 for Virgil, I don’t like it but it’s our only option.” Well now, Gordon had not been expecting that reply from their stern mama bear like older brother who was a stickler for rules and anonymity. “You must be a mind reader brother because Ellie just offered.” he replied as he indicated to Ellie where the spare com set was and walked her through getting into the cockpit.

 

“Wow, this… this is amazing”

 

The admiration in Ellies voice made Gordon smile, closing his eyes he began to walk her through how to operate 4 starting with disengaging the arms and turning around towards the pod. He liked the feel of the 4 when she moved through the water, as weird as it felt not being the one behind the console he found himself able to immerse himself in the feeling more. “Hey, you aren’t going to sleep on me back there are you?” ah he had been quiet too long and could hear the concern in her voice. “Maybe, you sure you have no experience?” he shot back and was met with a laugh, “Unless you count a jetski and a DPV, absolutely none. Virgil got lucky with Lucia, at least she can fly.” Well that thought was a relief, though he could only imagine the look on his big brothers face at someone other than him piloting his beloved Thunderbird 2. Oh man he was missing out being stuck here, he thought with a laugh. “What’s so funny?” Ellie’s voice again broke into his thoughts, “Ahh nothing, just the look on Virgil’s face at someone other than him flying 2.” he replied with another snicker. “Ahh, well the pod is in sight, what now?” Ellie queried and Gordon began to walk her through the docking procedures, the first time wasn’t successful but at least she managed it on the second attempt and once they were safely ensconced within the pod again, Ellie returned to Gordon’s side. “Guess we wait and hope they pick us up in time.” she said as she sat on the floor beside him, “I know Virge can.” Gordon tried to ignore the seed of doubt that had begun growing, “Lucia can, she’s a rescue paramedic you know. Don’t think any of us would have made it out without her.” Sure Ellie could be calm in a crisis but even she had found herself panicking when the plane went down, Lucia had been another story. So calm and collected in how she took charge of the situation and calmed everyone down. “Takes a lot of bravery to be the one to stay behind you know. I think everyone was damn lucky to have you both aboard.” Gordon consoled her best he could while they waited for Virgil and Lucia.


	5. Homeward Bound

“Scott, Scott come in! Is Gordon okay?” Virgil grimaced as he leant forwards in a panic when communications from Gordon and Scott fell silent. All Lucia could do was watch his panic as she worked to maintain Thunderbird 2 aloft and balance the strain on the plane the last cable was attached to. There was no real words for her to say and she fought to keep herself in work mode. The last thing she wanted to do was think on the reason why she had been given a leave from work. Actually she was pretty sure if she did think on it, that she would go crazy. She could feel the relief not only in herself but from Virgil too when Scott’s voice came over the coms again. It had certainly felt like the longest wait before getting any news to see if Gordon and Ellie were okay.

 

“Virgil, the moment Thunderbird 4 is clear of the plane get Lucia to release the remaining clamp and get out of there. Gordon says there’s a bomb aboard that will blow us sky high if it detonates close to the surface. John is calculating the safest distance for us as we speak.” They were alive at least, that much Lucia had gathered from Scott’s com, “FAB,Scott” came Virgil’s less than relieved reply. He didn’t like the fact his brother had dodged the question about Gordon, even more concerning was the knowledge of the bomb. “Lucia, just keep 2 steady. I can release the clamp, you need to be ready to move her as quickly as we can to get Thunderbird 4 before the plane blows.” With the pain meds having kicked in he could at least reach the clamp release with his good hand and Lucia found herself giving him that small task. There wasn’t much point in causing an issue over it, not when they needed to be focused on getting everyone out of there safely. That was their top priority after all. The silence of waiting was briefly broken by Scott radioing in the minimum safe distance that John had calculated, without their long range communications everything was taking that extra step if it was outside the range that Thunderbird 1 and 4 were from them.

 

“We’re clear of the wreckage, release the clamps.” It was Ellie’s voice that came over the coms to let them know that Thunderbird 4 was clear, for Lucia it was a sigh of relief to hear the voice of her new found friend again. A glance over at Virgil as he released the clamps told her that he was still worrying over Gordon. “This is Thunderbird 2, we’re on route to pick up Thunderbird 4. I suggest you clear out to a safe distance Thunderbird 1” there was a strain in Virgil’s voice as he radioed Scott, while Lucia piloted 2 over to the position of pod 4 and Thunderbird 4. “FAB Thunderbird 2, get out of there soon as you have 4.” came Scott’s reply, though there was a waver in his voice that betrayed his concern. “FAB” came Virgil’s short reply as he turned his attention back to Lucia. They were nearing the pod, brief radio contact confirmed Ellie and Gordon had made it into the pod safe and sound. Now it was all up to Lucia to get them up and home safe, not to say there wasn’t any pressure but she really only had one shot at this. Beside her Virgil walked Lucia through the targeting controls as she maneuvered Thunderbird 2 over the pod. Thankfully without Auto pilot, the ability to hover without holding onto the controls was still intact and Lucia was able to concentrate on getting a lock onto the pod. She let out a long breath when the clamps found their mark and they began to bring in the pod. There was no real accurate time on when the bomb would explode and Lucia could only hope she had enough time to get the pod docked before it did. The moment the pod was engaged there was a rumble from beneath them, on instinct Lucia steered away the moment she was clear to do so. A jet of high pressure water and debris shot up in one massive explosion near where they had been only moments earlier, it was only now at this moment that Lucia found herself relaxing.

 

They were alive, they had made it. Okay so she had never even dreamed she would end up flying one of the Thunderbirds but here she was. A quick radio contact with Scott and it had been decided they would head for New Zealand as of where the plane had crashed it was the closest airport. Scott would radio ahead and meet them there with a medical crew to asses take the passengers from there. “Sorry I can’t make it up there Virge” came Gordon’s apology over the coms, there was a strange mix of relief and concern on Virgil’s face at hearing his little brother’s voice. “It’s alright little brother, just rest up. We’ll be home soon.” It was about all he could say, as much as he wanted to go down and see him. The mere thought of moving any more than he already had was pain inducing. After that silence reigned over the cabin, aside from Scott radioing them when they were close enough to let them know which part of the airport was clear for them to land at. The next they spoke was when Virgil ran her through the landing sequence. Even then her words were few and far between as she acknowledged his instructions, setting Thunderbird 2 down for a gentle landing near Thunderbird 1. The moment it was clear Lucia pushed back on the seat and stood up, placing a hand on Virgil’s head to stop him from moving. “I’ll see that everyone gets out and check on Gordon, just rest. Don’t want to worry everyone you rescued. I’ll be back soon.” Lucia reassured as she made her way to the hull where the passengers had been kept after they rescued them. Now this was something she could do, this was familiar and safe to her. This was something part of her usual job, handing over patients was her specialty.

 

By the time she had everyone gathered and had finished passing them off to the paramedics individually herself, Lucia found herself staring up at the tall figure whom judging by his uniform and the fact he had come from Thunderbird 1 was Scott. “Virgil’s in the cockpit, I’m just about to check on Gordon and Ellie.” she could have kicked herself for being so blunt as she spoke before he could say anything. “Come to the cockpit and let me know how Gordon is after you’ve checked on him.” As much as he wanted to see his little brother, Scott got the distinct feeling it was best to go check on Virgil and make sure his younger brother wasn’t trying to do something stupid in his need to be useful. Lucia merely nodded in reply and the pair of them silently split ways once they were inside Thunderbird 2. Making her way into the pod, Lucia found herself engulfed within a very wet hug the moment she opened the rear hatch of Thunderbird 4. “I’m so glad you’re alive.” the voice squeaked from her shoulder and Lucia found herself hugging her new found friend back. “That should be my line.” Lucia whispered back gruffly in her ear before they came apart. “How is he?” Lucia asked as they made their way to Gordon’s side where he greeted them with an ear to ear grin.  “Ah we meet again, am I getting the good stuff too?” he couldn’t help it, joking was his way of coping with everything. As much as his brothers hated it at times, it was joking around that got him through after his accident. Laughter was the best medicine he would always say and indeed it did make Lucia laugh, “It depends on how much pain you’re in” she said with a chuckle. “He hit his back when the water rushed in after the third clamp pulled part of the plane off, said he couldn’t feel anything so I followed spinal protocol the moment I got him in here.” Ellie interjected quickly filling Lucia in and the dark look and sudden loss of Gordon’s characteristic smile didn’t go unmissed by either girl at the mention of not being able to feel anything. “You did really well Ellie, you did really well.” Lucia found herself patting Ellie on the shoulder before she moved to Gordon’s side, “Well this might be a bit uncomfortable but I want you to tell me when it hurts” slowly she checked the stability of his spine, “Ow, ow ow...ow” Gordon yelped when she hit the middle of his back. Well there she could feel some swelling coming up, finishing up with the rest of his spine she pulled her hand back. “Can’t feel your legs?” she queried and watched as he lifted his arms and hands to indicate towards where he couldn’t feel down from, “I can’t feel anything”. There was a raised eyebrow and shake of her head from Lucia, “Well your arms look okay, just keep them down for the moment.” she couldn’t help but smile when the realisation that he could feel and move his arms hit his face. “YES! I can feel my arms and man that hurts..” the happiness was short lived as he realised he still couldn’t feel his legs, “but I still can’t feel my legs.” came the dejected addition as his arms dropped back down.

 

 

“Well you do have some nasty swelling on your back, for now I can give you something for that and the pain. I don’t think you’ve broken anything but we won’t know for sure until you get further testing. So keep your chin up.” Lucia said with a smile as she opened up the kit she bought down with her from cockpit and found what she needed. All Ellie could do was stand and watch Lucia work, she had done her part and now they were landed perhaps it was best  she departed the flight now too. “Don’t leave yet Ellie, I still need you to watch him for me. His brother’s in no condition to fly them home.” In her mind Lucia had already decided what the next logical step would be and she would feel much better if Ellie stayed down here. She had at least enough training for this. “Guess you’re stuck with me a while longer.” Ellie joked to Gordon with a smile, “You aren’t the only thing stuck to me… ouch” Lucia had chosen the moment he was distracted to stick him with the needle. There was a snicker from both women, “Sorry, perfect timing and all.” came Lucia’s apology before she began to pack everything away. “Well, I have to let Virgil and Scott know how you’re doing, you know where to reach me if you need me” Lucia said with a wink. She had a feeling the pair would be listening in on the conversation in the cockpit via the comms anyway. “Can see why she got everyone out so calmly… She’s very thorough.” there was a snort of laughter from Ellie at Gordon’s comment once Lucia had left and was out of earshot.

 

“You missed seeing her when she first boarded the plane, practically had a panic attack before we had even taken off. The crash ended up being the best thing for her, not that any of us wanted to crash.” Ellie replied with a laugh as she sat next to Gordon again, “Not a fan of flying then I take it.” Gordon queried and Ellie shook her head. “Control thing, she’s only comfortable when she’s flying or someone she knows is.” There was a snort from Gordon, “Sounds like someone else I know.” he knew exactly which brother that was and it gave him an odd sense of amusement to know they were stuck together in the cockpit.

 

 

Lucia made her way back to the cockpit, she could only hope Gordon’s injuries turned out as she assumed they would. It meant at least one of them would be off work for less time than the other. She knew how important their work was, none of them could afford to be away from it for long. She also knew how important public image was and knowing how injured they were would not bode well in the public view. Entering the cockpit, she found Virgil and Scott discussing how to get themselves home. “How is he? How’s Gordon?” It was the first question out of their mouths when the Lucia appeared in the cockpit on the platform, “He can’t feel his legs and has some heavy swelling and bruising on his back….” Lucia watched as both men’s faces paled, as if they were reliving some horrid dream. “Is he okay? Will he walk?” It was Virgil who asked the questions before Scott could. “Without further testing I can’t give a definite answer, neither is it my expertise but from his symptoms there is a good chance he will” Lucia replied as she slid past Scott into the co-pilot’s seat. She had seen enough spinal injuries to tell the difference between those with good or poor prognosis, part of their training was all in identifying the differences but even then it didn’t always end up correct. She could feel the relief from the brothers though at the little sliver of hope she had given them.

 

“Well shall we head home?” She knew this question wouldn’t garner a particularly good response, “I would prefer to fly home and bring someone back to fly them home.” came Scott’s immediate reply, the hard wall he put up would be hard to pass. It wasn’t like she wanted to know where they lived and she certainly wasn’t a spy but to her she had a duty to see those she had attended safe. She couldn’t hand over that responsibility so easy. “Virgil’s in no condition to monitor Gordon in his condition and it’s already been proven I can fly this bird.” Lucia shot back, both were facts she knew he couldn’t ignore. “Fine, I’ll fly 2 back and auto pilot 1 home. You can keep an eye on Gordon.” Scott shot back, he really didn’t take well to anyone challenging authority and Virgil wasn’t in the condition to intervene.  
  
“You need to maintain confidentiality right? Delaying the trip home could compromise that. We’ve stayed long enough now that people are bound to begin to get concerned.If you don’t pilot Thunderbird 1 home people will figure out something is wrong. Lucia got us here safely enough and I’m fine with looking after Gordon until you make it home.” It was Ellie’s voice that came over the coms and Lucia let out a sigh of relief. She could see Scott trying to come up with a counter argument against it. “Ellie is right, and confidentiality is part of our jobs. The passengers are none the wiser, they might have seen Virgil take the hit but as far as they know he’s still capable of flying, they know nothing of Gordon’s injuries and think I’m just helping out due to my line of work. I would take advantage of that.” Okay so she has spun a little white lie to the passengers, but she had thought it best they didn’t know the extent of their rescuers injuries. She didn’t want anyone panicking after all. Scott’s mouth moved like a guppy, those girls really had thought of everything he marveled for a moment. “Alright then, I’ll fly ahead and radio home of the situation. Bring them home safe Lucia” Lucia felt a hand on her shoulder and she looked up to find Scott giving her his reluctant approval. “FAB, Thunderbird 1” she couldn’t help but reply with a wink and a salute to top it off. “Alrighty then, take care” came Scott’s reply as his hand moved from her shoulder to ruffle her hair before he made his way out to return to Thunderbird 1.

 

“I’m impressed. Usually he’s much harder to convince” It was Virgil who spoke up from where he was leaning back into the pilot’s seat, “Is you pain alright?” Lucia found herself asking wanting to dodge the last comment, “Yeah, I’ll be fine until we get home. Don’t want to addle my thoughts too much in case you need further navigation.” Of course he wasn’t going to let on that talking and breathing hurt but at least the pain meds were keeping it in check more so than before. Scott checked in with them one more time before he took off, as Lucia did the preflight check and started Thunderbird 2 up again. She was far more used to it this time around and in no time they had clearance and were up and off. The talk between all of them over the coms, was constantly flowing though Virgil had gone quiet. Lucia could only assume it was because talking had begun to hurt too much. At last Tracy Island was in sight, though it appeared they had been pre warned for a rocky landing, there was a chuckle from Lucia as she steered Thunderbird 2 in and maneuvered her down on to the runway. She was getting good at this now. She steered the great bird where Virgil directed her and before she knew it they were safely ensconced within the island and she was shutting down the engines and lifting 2 up to gain clearer access to Ellie and Gordon. She had done it. She had bought them home.


	6. Unexpected Proposal

“That was more than some recreational flying experience.” The comment came from Virgil, as Lucia unbuckled herself and left the co-pilot’s seat. There was a short laugh from Lucia, “Well of course, it is one part of my job after all.” she replied with a smile, it wasn’t everyday one could say their flying skills were praised by someone like International Rescue. At least she was going to take such a comment as a compliment, she was certainly no rookie at flying a variety of different rescue craft. Not that she would openly admit to them she was in the same business as they were, just on a much smaller more localised scale. After all it was only the rescues they didn’t have the resources or ability to perform themselves that they passed on to International Rescue. The only difference being was they didn’t receive the same accolades as International Rescue did and she couldn’t help but think of a few of her work mates who were rather bitter on that subject. Though based off one of her usual days, she wouldn’t be surprised if they had days, where like her they were run off their feet. “I should probably get Scott to…” Lucia was unable to finish her sentence before Virgil interrupted, “No. No, I need to see how Gordon is.” There was a desperation in his voice she found hard to ignore, “I understand you’re worried about your brother but it really would best to wait for assistance. You’ll be of no help to anyone let alone your brothers if you injure yourself further” Lucia wasn’t willing to risk maneuvering Virgil to his feet on her own, after all in her job they worked in pairs or more for a reason.

 

The hand on his good shoulder told Virgil she wasn’t joking around about making his injuries worse. This was far worse than he had hoped and he let out a hissing sigh, the pain meds were beginning to wear off now, perhaps he should have taken up her offer back at the airport to for a little extra. He could feel the tension in her body ease through her hand when she realised he wasn’t going to fight her on it. She cared a lot more than she ought to was all he could think, but then so did he. She didn’t need to know how defeated and useless he felt, he wasn’t supposed to get injured. He wasn’t supposed to need rescuing, none of them were supposed to need rescuing and if they did it would be up to family. But there they were, without a single thought for themselves, Lucia and Ellie had jumped into the chaos head on. It was certainly an admirable quality, it was a necessary quality for being apart of International Rescue. But they weren’t part of International Rescue. “I’ll get you some more pain relief.” her words brought Virgil out of his thoughts as he stared out the window of 2. He knew it wouldn’t be long until Scott came to check on them and why they had not come down yet.

 

* * *

 

 

Ellie let out a sigh of relief when Lucia gave the word they had made it safe to the island, “See I told you she could do it” she bragged softly to Gordon as she sat beside him. “Yeah you did.” came the reply as Thunderbird 2 taxied into the hangar. Ellie could feel when the engines had been shut down and could hear the whir of the motors and hydraulics that lifted Thunderbird 2 off the pod they were safely contained within. She could hear the door open and by the time she had stood and opened the rear hatch of Thunderbird 4. Ellie found herself greeted with the faces of four men and a woman pulling a bed, aside from a brief glance of Virgil. Ellie only know Gordon, though she could recognise the voice of Scott when he spoke. She could only assume he had filled everyone in on the situation when he had arrived back ahead of them. ”Ellie right? It’s Scott, how is he?” it was Scott who stepped forwards first, it seemed despite Lucia’s report he was rather deeply concerned.

 

“Hey! I might not be able to feel my legs but I’m not mute and deaf too you know.”

 

Behind her Gordon piped up, rolling his eyes at Scott’s tendency to be a smother hen, or so they affectionately called him at times. Ever since their mother had passed he had been like that. Was almost suffocating sometimes. He could see Ellie cover her mouth to try and hide her laugh as Scott moved around her to see him. “Lucia said he still needs further testing but she believes he’s stable enough for us to move all together.” Ellie managed after she had stopped laughing, turning to take the place at Gordon’s head as the bed was wheeled in and lowered to the height of the one he was lying on. Together with great care they moved Gordon onto the bed, there was little time for introductions and Ellie could see Gordon was trying not to let everyone know the pain he was in when they moved him. Slowly they lifted the bed up to its normal height and made to move out of Thunderbird 4 and the pod. Briefly Ellie looked around found she didn’t see Lucia anywhere. “Has Lucia already come down?” she turned to ask Scott who was next to her with concern. She was hoping that they had already come down and were already at the infirmary. “No. They haven’t” Scott’s reply was not what Ellie had been hoping for and she could see he was torn between staying with Gordon and checking on them.

 

“Go, they might be needing help. I won’t leave his side until you make it to the infirmary with them.” There was a choked laugh below her and Ellie’s cheeks turned bright red, “Well you heard her Scott, go get them. This young lady has kindly offered to stay with Gordon, I suggest you listen to her.” It was Jeff who had spoken up and Scott wasn’t about to disobey his father, Ellie found herself looking down to avoid everyone looking at her only to meet Gordon’s gaze as he winked at her. With that Scott departed from them to check on Lucia and Virgil inside the cockpit.

 

* * *

 

 

“What’s taking him so long.”

 

It was Virgil who growled impatiently, being stuck within his seat was not his idea of fun and with his injuries neither was it comfortable. As if his complaints had been heard the platform had descended and risen to reveal Scott looking rather concerned.”Finally! Took you long enough” it was Virgil again who complained and Lucia rested her hand on his good shoulder. “Give me a hand, I can’t lift him myself without making it worse.” It seemed that Lucia too was ready to finally get on solid ground again. “Where do you want me?” Scott queried as he maneuvered around Virgil to where Lucia directed him and positioned himself. Lucia readied herself in her position and with another count of three together her and Scott lifted Virgil to his feet. He was expecting it to hurt, but he wasn’t expecting the sudden drop in pain for him when he was standing still after the lift. It stunned him for moment and Lucia gave Scott a look of concern as they paused to let Virgil regain his bearings. “Let’s get you checked out.” Lucia spoke softly as she and Scott guided him from the seat to the platform to take them down.

 

It was slow going as they walked down the halls, Scott mostly supporting Virgil who had his good arm over his brother’s shoulder while Scott had his arm wrapped low around Virgil’s waist holding the harness at his hip. Lucia monitoring his condition and giving ample moments of rest as they moved down the hall. They were about halfway there when TinTin appeared with wheelchair, Jeff had sent her concerned by how long it was taking to get to the infirmary. Begrudgingly Virgil allowed Scott to ease him down into the wheelchair, despite the rise in pain it caused when he sat back into it. This would be a far quicker option and TinTin excused herself to return to the infirmary ahead of them to let them know they were okay and coming.

 

“Thank you. For bringing them back.”

 

Lucia was drawn out of her thoughts by Scott’s voice beside her as he pushed Virgil in his wheelchair. That was something she certainly wasn’t expecting, she was used to her usual patients expressing their gratitude towards her but this was a different ball game, this was someone from International Rescue thanking her. “Just doing my job is all” Lucia found herself automatically replying as she often did towards praise. She wasn’t exactly sure what to say otherwise. The rest of the walk to the infirmary from then on was held in awkward silence between them all. Rounding the corner into the infirmary she hear a squeal of excitement and found herself suddenly hugged tightly, “Lucia! You did it, we’re safe. You saved us all.” Ellie gushed as she hugged her new found friends tightly, Lucia watching over Ellie’s shoulder at Virgil being assisted onto a bed. Seeing this she finally breathed a sigh of relief and hugged Ellie back. When she started to feel the girl begin to shake in her arms, Lucia guided her to the closest seats and sat beside her holding her hands. She watched as for a moment they people around her moved as if they weren’t there. By now and older woman had appeared in the infirmary with them and after noticing Lucia and Ellie in the corner alone, made a beeline straight for them.

 

“You must be the girls I owe the lives of my grandsons to”

 

Those were the first words out of her mouth as she approached them and placed her hand over the top of the one Lucia had been holding Ellie’s with. “We just did what we were able to.” Lucia replied, it wasn’t as if they did anything special. Though perhaps it was because of her line of work she saw it as something normal and part of her job. “Well I sure am glad you did.” Grandma Tracy replied as she patted their hands comfortingly before turning to walk over to Jeff who was talking with Brains over the medical results of his two injured sons. “How are they?” knowing how her grandson’s were was one of her first priorities, she glanced over her shoulder at Lucia and Ellie. Yes, once she knew how her grandsons were, she would work out how she could not only help the girls but thank them once again for what they did. “Well.. Gordon should be back to light duties in around 8 weeks along with some rehabilitation to regain strength again. It appears Lucia was right, his back wasn’t broken again but the impact was enough to shock his spine, he’s already started to slowly regain feeling.” Jeff explained, pausing for a moment as he tried to come up with the words for what to say next.

 

Lucia had lifted her head and tuned in to what Jeff was saying when she heard the mention of her name. Well she was certainly glad to hear that, when it came to back and spinal injuries knowing that her suspicion was correct and more so knowing their prognosis either made her relieved or heartbroken. It was the ones who never ended up walking again that broke her heart. “And Virgil?” she heard Grandma Tracy ask and Lucia watched as Jeff glanced over his shoulder at Virgil propped up on the infirmary bed getting a cast on his upper arm and a brace his shoulder applied, as well as some taping for his ribs. “He’s lucky enough in that we don’t need to fly him out for surgery, but he has fractured both his collarbone and his humerus” Jeff paused to indicate the middle of his upper arm as to where Virgil broke the bone.

 

“He’s cracked three ribs, if he stays quiet they should remain stable and heal without issue. If he’s quiet everything should heal up fine but he’s off duty for six months, possibly a year if it doesn’t heal as expected. He’s going to need extensive therapy to regain the strength in his arm. Now we need not worry about the bone strength, as you know we have the technology to heal them stronger than before their break. But it will take time to rebuild the lost muscle. I don’t know how we are going to make 8 weeks without at least one of them, let alone six months to a year.”

 

Lucia saw the look on Grandma Tracy’s face when she looked towards them, “I saw him get hit, he’s bloody lucky it wasn’t worse. Far as I’m concerned that harness he wears is what saved him and the fact it was only a glancing blow. A direct hit would have been a whole nother kettle of fish” Lucia found herself speaking before she could stop and she felt all eyes in the room on her. Just looking at her anyone knew what that whole nother kettle of fish would have been, it had been like a bucket of ice water had hit everyone in the face. Grandma Tracy had stepped in before Jeff could move towards Lucia, enraged that anyone could have insinuated one of his son’s had been only a breath away from coming home dead. It was not a reality he liked, nor even wanted to think of. Despite the business they were in. “Jeff, how about we get the girl’s a room. They’re probably just as shaken over everything and it’s been a stressful day for everyone.” Grandma Tracy put her hands on her son’s shoulders to stop him getting any closer. Lucia had reactively pulled Ellie towards her and the younger woman had leaned in against her, burying her head in Lucia’s shoulder. “Fine. Kyrano, prepare a room for these women” Jeff said with a resigned sigh the moment Kyrano entered the infirmary, “Yes Mr Tracy.” came his ever obedient reply as he disappeared for a few moments before returning to the Infirmary to usher Lucia and Ellie to follow him through the house to the room he had prepared for them both together.

 

“She’s right you know, father. If I hadn’t moved when she called out to me, when Scott called out to me. I probably wouldn’t be here.” Virgil admitted the moment Ellie and Lucia left, while the pain wasn’t completely gone, the extra pain medication and the cast and brace made a big difference. So did strapping his ribs, everything was now more a vicious dull ache. “I know Virgil, I know” came his father’s reply as he sat down on the chair near his second eldest son. “I just don’t know how we are going to conduct rescues with you and Gordon out of action.”

 

“Why don’t you ask Ellie and Lucia to help Dad?”

 

It was Gordon who suggested it, completely out of the blue. It only seemed logical and Lucia already had the rescue qualifications. Ellie was a strong swimmer, Gordon had seen that first hand and in any case 4 wasn’t needed that often. Though that was his personal observation he was yet to share. “No, that would be impossible. Absolutely impossible.” Jeff was immediately on the back foot, it was perhaps the craziest idea he had heard. “Not that impossible father, Lucia’s already proven she can handle Thunderbird 2 and her job involves flying.” It was Virgil who spoke next, it was rare he let anyone beside himself fly 2 nor did he always praise their ability to do so. “Of course she can, Ellie said Lucia was a rescue paramedic. Think about it. She already does what we do, just on a more localised scale.” Gordon replied throwing his arms up in frustration, and enjoying the shock on the faces of his brothers and father. Especially when all the pieces of Lucia’s behaviour had been put together, her medical knowledge and calm under pressure. Organisation of the rescue before they had even arrived. It now all made sense.

 

“She’s got a level head father, she had the passengers calm and organised before we had even arrived. She already knows where we are located, so confidentiality is out the window there. She could be a valuable member of the team and we need someone with her experience.” it was Scott who spoke this time, while he had been unsure of her at first, she had talked him round. She appealed to his logical side and he admired her ability to challenge people.

 

“Fine, you’ve made your point. We will ask her in the morning if she can help us and who to contact to ask about borrowing her until Virgil can return to duty. However for Ellie being a strong swimmer is not enough.” Jeff sighed, he hated it when his son’s decided to gang up on him like that. Last time that happened he had been forced on a holiday with Lady Penelope and left Scott in charge. That certainly could have gone better but at least it had ended with a successful rescue. “She’s a lifeguard Dad, a beach lifeguard. Water rescues are her specialty. Four doesn’t get used that often, so I can train her and we can do with the extra hand. If Lucia needs experienced help in two, you can always send Alan. We don’t see a space rescue that often either.” It was Gordon once again supplying the reason, well he had been the one to talk to them. Well rather he had spoken to Ellie, they had spent a fair amount of the trip home talking. After all it had only been the two of them in the pod.

 

“Alright, okay. Make sure to ask the girls in the morning and hope to god they are crazy enough to accept. Now get some rest boys, those injuries won’t heal themselves without it.” With a last sigh, Jeff stood and exited the Infirmary to go to some work at his desk until it was time to sleep. Scott and Alan soon left after saying goodbye to their brothers. While Brains stayed behind for a moment to monitor their vital read outs before he was satisfied in leaving them to rest while he went to assess the damage to Thunderbird 2. It was going to be a long night for him.

* * *

 

 

“I am sorry we only have the one room, but you have a bed each. I hope it is adequate.” Kyrano opened the door to show them a room that wasn’t tiny but wasn’t small by any standard either. It was big enough for two single beds, each with a bedside table either side. There were built in wardrobes opposite the bed and a tv sat on a vanity between them and it appeared the room had it’s own ensuite, that contained a shower, a sink and a toilet. “There are also spare clothes in the closets.” After ushering Ellie inside, Lucia smiled at Kyrano, “It’s more than adequate. Thank you.” pleased with the reply, Kyrano gave them a bow before he walked out of the room. “Sleep well Miss Ellie, Miss Lucia.” he said before closing the door and leaving them to absorb the goings on around them.

 

Guiding Ellie to one of the beds, Lucia sat her down. “You okay Ellie?” she asked concerned for the younger girl, Ellie looked down at her hands that had begun to shake even more. “Yeah, but that was really scary.” were the only words Ellie could mumble out. “Yeah it was, but you were great and we got everyone out.” Lucia reassured Ellie best she could, she wasn’t to know of the scene the girl had walked in on when entering the flight deck of the plane. “Let’s pick out some pajamas, then you can have a shower, I’ll have a shower afterwards and we can have a long talk about it. Sound okay?” Lucia often found the best way to deal with a situation was talking about it, or having a debrief as they called it at work. There was a meek nod from Ellie and she followed Lucia to the closets, where they picked out something and with a little push Lucia ushered Ellie into the shower. “Make it nice and hot, it’ll help. Just call if you need me.” Lucia said softly with a smile before closing the door on Ellie in the bathroom and moving away to sit on one of the beds. Her own hands had begun to shake and Lucia could only hope she could get them under control before Ellie came out of the shower and noticed. She couldn’t crumble, not now. Not yet. Someone still needed her.


	7. Reluctant Acceptance

Ellie had nearly cried herself to sleep that night while Lucia sat by her side and rubbed her back. All she could talk about was all the blood and the bodies and how she could still see it when she closed her eyes. Lucia had taken Ellie into her arms and held her tightly, whispering soft words of comfort. Eventually she had Ellie lay down to try get some sleep as she rubbed her back. That was when the shuddering sobs from Ellie started up again, she didn’t want to close her eyes. She didn’t want to see it all again. Lucia’s hand rubbed soothingly up and down Ellie’s back and she told the younger woman to just focus on her voice and the feel of her hand rubbing her back. “Many nights we've prayed, with no proof anyone could hear” softly Lucia began to sing, she always found comfort in singing. It was the first thing she ever found comfort in and it just seemed more natural and easier to focus on when upset. Beneath her hand she could feel the shuddering sobs begin to slow and stop, “you’ve a really nice voice” came the soft remark from Ellie as she listened.

 

“If it’s so nice, just listen and get some rest.” Lucia paused to retort softly, earning a giggle from Ellie in response,”Thanks Lucia.” was her soft reply as she closed her eyes again. Lucia smiled softly and resumed singing and rubbing Ellie’s back until she hear the soft sound of snoring coming from the younger woman. Tucking the blankets up higher about Ellie, Lucia stood and made her way to the shower after grabbing a pair of pajamas from closet. As Ellie had come out of the shower crying she had been more focused on getting her new friend to calm down than she had about cleaning herself up. Stripping off she took the chance to look at herself in front of the mirror, bruises had begun to bloom on her hips, no doubt from the seatbelt on the plane when they had crashed. Her hands and arms were scratched in places and her clothes were stained with blood that was more than just her own. Turning on the shower, she adjusted the temperature and stepped in. The hot water stung as it hit her skin and seeped into her muscles, it was only now she had the chance to realise how sore and exhausted she was. It was only now in the peace and quiet she had the chance to reflect. Bracing her arms against the wall of the shower she shoved her head under the stream of water as she focused on trying to calm her breathing. Breathing in and out as the water flowed through her hair, rinsing out the debris and sweat. She focused on the sound of the water as it hit the floor of the shower. Lucia stood there for several more minutes before she reached for the shampoo and began to wash out her hair, she had control again. They needed her to remain in control and that was what she would have to do.

 

Eventually Lucia left the shower and dried herself off, changing into the pajamas she made her way to the bed that was next to Ellie’s. Crawling under the covers she found herself completely exhausted and promptly fell asleep. There was a roaring noise that had awoken her and she could only assume it was Scott on a late night or early morning rescue. Lucia had no idea how long she had been sleeping for when the jets of Thunderbird 1 woke her up. But awake she was now, looking across she found Ellie sprawled out on her bed. Still snoring away and oblivious to her surroundings. Lucia stifled a laugh, glad that at least one of them was getting some decent rest. Deciding not to move anyway in case she woke Ellie, Lucia remained lying in bed and staring at the ceiling. There she lay in the darkness, awake. It wasn’t until she heard the rumble of Thunderbird 1 and Scott returning to the Island that she finally drifted off to sleep again.

 

Lucia next awoke to the sound of knocking on their door, she heard Ellie get the door and slowly pried her eyes open to see that Ellie was already dressed and speaking to Grandma Tracy. The moment she heard mention of her name she pulled herself up in bed, trying to ignore the protest of the muscles in her body at the movement. “Yeah I’m awake.” she said as she rubbed her eyes and Ellie stood back from the door to smile at her. “Good, I’ll wait while you get dressed. The boys are still asleep and I have something I wish to speak with you both about before they get up.” It was Grandma Tracy who spoke from the doorway and Lucia nodded as she dragged herself out of bed and pulled some pants and a shirt from the wardrobe as well as some underwear. Plucking up her bra from the clothes she had worn the day before she slipped into the bathroom to change. This time she left her curly dark brown hair free of being tied back, stopping only to run her fingers through it and make it look somewhat presentable. Washing and then sleeping on it always had the tendency to make it fluff out and frizz. Shaking it out she took one final look in the mirror before she left the bathroom to join Ellie and Grandma Tracy who were chatting softly in the doorway.

 

“Well, let’s get you girls some breakfast before I ask you about something important.” Grandma Tracy’s words were oddly cryptic but the thought food quickly replaced any thoughts in the girls minds. In the light of day Lucia found herself awestruck by the scenery displayed from the windows that overlooked the island. Following Grandma Tracy and Ellie down the stairs to the main living space, Lucia found her eyes drawn to the grand piano at the far end of the room by the expansive window that covered the whole side of the house that overlooked the island. For a brief moment she found herself wondering who owned such a beautiful instrument but continued to follow down another flight of stairs to reach the kitchen. With a smile she saw Ellie’s eyes light up the moment she saw the pool that was overlooked by the dining room. Grandma Tracy ushered them both to take a seat at the table as Kyrano came out carrying a selection of fruits, bread and jams for them to enjoy for breakfast. He broke into a wide grin when he saw Ellie and Lucia, “Ahh, I pray you slept well and all was satisfactory.” Lucia found herself unable to answer in anything but a nod and Ellie enthusiastically smiled, “I slept very well thank you.” the responses he got appeared to delight Kyrano and he encouraged them to eat and let him know if they needed anything more, before disappearing back to the kitchen.

 

There was silence as they ate, at least at first as no one knew what to say. Both Ellie and Lucia watched as Grandma Tracy appeared to be collecting her thoughts on what she had needed to ask them. It was only just as Lucia and Ellie turned their attention back to their plates of food they heard Grandma Tracy speak. “I overheard the boys talking last night after Kyrano took you girls to bed and I believe it’s best I let you know what they were saying. I am sure by now you have worked out that we are in a spot of trouble, with two of my grandsons injured and no one to truly replace them. I’m not asking for an immediate answer but for things as big as this I believe you need time to think it over and they weren’t going to give you much of that. The boys are going to request the help of the both of you. We cannot afford to be without 2 or 4. I know we are asking a lot and I am not giving you much more time.” Her voice faded off towards the end as she looked at both Ellie and Lucia.

 

Lucia found her appetite had gone at Grandma Tracy’s words and her eyes lowered to stare at her plate. The woman was right though, it wasn’t that much extra time but Lucia appreciated the intention. Her thoughts drifted to wishing she had her violin and the sudden stab to her heart when she realised it had been vapourised in the explosion of the plane. It had been her first full sized violin and she had never replaced it, the sentimentality behind it was irreplaceable and now it was gone. Her source of peace that allowed her to think was gone. Music had been a lifeline to her, a release; an escape. It gave her clarity to play. Oh to play. She no longer had a violin but within these walls lay a piano. She had not played in a while though.

 

“You have a piano. May I..” Lucia began as she looked back up at Grandma Tracy to see the woman smiling at her, “Play it?” came the woman’s question and Lucia nodded. “If it helps you think then go right ahead and be my guest.” It seemed to be what Ellie needed to put forward her own request, “Is it alright if I take a swim?” she tentatively asked and Grandma Tracy laughed. “If it helps go right ahead.” the woman waved both girls away and turned to tidying up the table.

 

Lucia climbed the stairs to the the main lounge area where she had seen the Piano, paperwork lay scattered across the desk she passed as she walked towards past it. She could only assume it belonged to the father of the men she had rescued. She ran her fingers across the side of the Piano and then across the lid as she seated herself in on the long bench that sat in front of it. It was long enough to accommodate two people she mused softly as she lifted the lid. Her fingers drifted across the cool ivory keys and she found them begin to shake. Closing her fingers into fists she took a deep breath and returned her fingers to the keys. She started slow at first and it didn’t make much sense but as her hands warmed the seemingly random notes she was playing began to form her favourite song. The notes of Schubert’s Ave Maria filled her ears and Lucia found herself relaxing. She couldn’t remember how long it had been since she had last played it on the piano but she knew she needed no sheet music to remember how to play it.

 

* * *

 

 

Jeff had been thankful the only call they had during the night had been something Scott was able to handle on his own. He had left his desk shortly after Scott had returned home weary to go quietly check on his two injured sons in the infirmary. He found Gordon deep asleep and he reached over to brush the wavy copper curls from the face of his second youngest. Virgil however had been awake since Scott had returned. He felt sorry for his son, as he himself in his youth had broken his collarbone and one a few occasions cracked a few ribs. One of the hazards of growing up on the Ranch. He recalled them being some of the most uncomfortable injuries he had suffered, sleeping was nearly impossible let alone comfortable. He pulled a seat over to sit beside his second eldest. “It was an accident Virgil. Do not blame yourself and try to get some rest.” he reached out to place a hand on Virgil’s uninjured one comfortingly before his son could open his mouth to apologised for being injured. He knew it would be the first thing that his son did. Virgil bowed his head to his father, he wanted to complain but he knew it would fall on deaf ears. Once Virgil had had drifted back to sleep Jeff stood to take his leave. He would get a few hours rest himself, he had been up most if not all of the night between Scott’s rescue and talking to Brains about the logistics of modifying some of the equipment they already had to accommodate the girls should they accept the offer they were going to put forwards to them. He knew that John would wake him if anything came up.

 

Virgil had awoken again some time after his father’s visit to the sound of Gordon’s whining voice of protest, which was followed by the stern tones of their smother hen Scott. “Guy can’t get any sleep around her can he” he groaned at the two of them as he slowly opened his eyes. Much to his surprise Gordon was sitting up in bed and cheerful as ever. Just that sight was enough to lift a heavy burden he had felt on his heart. “Sorry Virge but Scott won’t let me out of bed to see Ellie. I want to be the one to ask her, it is my spot she’s taking.” Gordon explained only for it to be met with resistance from Scott again about him being in no condition to move from the infirmary. He had already begun to gain feeling in his legs again and he didn’t think being stuck in the infirmary would help him get better quicker either, Gordon had shot back at Scott who now looked to Virgil to back him up. “I agree with him brother, Thunderbird 2 is mine. I would prefer to be the one to ask Lucia myself.” Virgil replied with a sigh, yeah that hurt and he watched as Scott made a move to the medical cabinet and withdrew a syringe before returning to his side and wordlessly administered his next dose of pain medication.

 

“You can’t be serious, you both need to rest. We nearly lost the two of you yesterday.” The concern was thick in Scott’s voice and Virgil leveled his gaze with his older brothers, “Scott, you either help me out of this bed, or so help me I will find a way out myself. I am sure Gordon feels the same. You can help us now or we can take matters into our own hands and possibly injure ourselves worse.” Virgil knew he had him on the last line, and he watched his older brother sigh in resignation.  “Alright, alright but Gordon I will not hear of you walking yet. I’ll get a wheelchair so neither of you move until I get back.” Scott was less than happy about being talked into something he knew father would not approve of but even he knew none of his brothers including himself took bedrest particularly well.

 

“Thanks Virge. If I have to stay here any longer I swear I’ll go mad.” It was Gordon that piped up with his thanks once Scott had left and Virgil waved him off with his good hand. “No thanks needed Gordon. I can’t stand the thought of being cooped up in here either.” he replied and leaned back against the raised head of his bed. It didn’t take Scott long to retrieve Gordon a wheelchair and together with some precision maneuvering brought Gordon to his feet and into the chair. Once their younger brother had been settled, Virgil found himself face to face with his older brother. Scott lowered the height of the bed to something easier for Virgil to get up from and moved the legs of his younger brother around to hang over the edge of the bed. “Ready?” Scott asked Virgil as he positioned himself to pull his younger brother towards him on his good side. “Ready.” came Virgil’s reply as he moved with his brother and soon enough he was standing again. Scott waited until Virgil had steadied himself before he released his grip from his brother. The walk to the dining area though not all that far became a slow and tedious walk to Virgil. Of course Scott wouldn’t leave his side and Gordon cracked a joke about him now being as slow as Thunderbird 2 now while Scott pushed him along.

 

As they neared the Kitchen the boys came to a halt, a look of confusion on all their faces. The delicate notes of the piano being played drifted down the hallway. Virgil was the only person in their family who played and he was there with them. Their mother had played too, but she had passed away a very long time ago. Soon enough their feet were moving again and they found Grandma Tracy at the table which had been set with food ready for when they woke up. She didn’t notice the boys at first as they walked in, eyes shut she had been listening to the music with a smile on her face. She looked up when she heard footsteps, though surprised to see both Virgil and Gordon out of beds smiled and went about putting something together for them from the table.

 

“Scott, I’m just going to..”

“Just go Virge.”

 

Virgil was unable to finish his sentence before Scott cut him off and moved his hand to indicate for Virgil to go check who was playing his piano. “Hey Scott, can you park me by the pool.” Virgil heard Gordon asked as he slowly turned to go walk up the stairs, catching the splash of the water from the pool out the corner of his eye. “What?.. Yeah.. sure” Virgil heard his older brother’s dazed reply almost as if he had been lost in his thoughts for a moment. All of that faded away as he slowly climbed the stairs step by step. The music from the piano getting louder and clearer as he got closer. He stopped to rest upon reaching the top of the stairs and found himself captivated by the scenery ahead of him. Before him, bathed in the light of the morning a woman sat at his piano, completely unaware of her surroundings as she played. A curly mane of dark red brown hair framing her face as she played, for under the light of the sun it the red tint to her dark brown hair became apparent. With her hair down it took him a moment to realise it was Lucia seated at his piano and slowly he made his way across the room towards her.

 

* * *

 

 

Lucia had been so absorbed in playing the piano that she at first she had not noticed Virgil standing beside her. “I see you’re a woman of many talents.” at the voice beside her, Lucia’s hands froze and hovered over the keys. “Don’t stop. It’s not like I can play right now.” So it was him the piano belonged to. She had to admit Virgil was not the person she would have picked as being the one who owned it. “I.. I’m sorry. Grandma said it was okay.” Lucia stammered as she remained frozen at the piano, still unable to play. When Virgil made to sit beside her, she found her hands moved automatically to guide him down and provide support. The moment he was seated she dropped her hands into her lap, “You really should be resting” she scolded softly as he began to pluck a simple tune with his uninjured right hand. It didn’t take long for Lucia to recognise the tune, though it needed a second hand to play properly. Something her body had no need of extra encouragement for and she easily picked up the tune with him. “And miss this?” came the soft teasing remark of Virgil when she began to join him in playing the simple ditty.

 

Lucia couldn’t help but laugh a little at his remark. It was a short lived feeling though as the reason she had begun to play weighed firmly in her mind again. She wasn’t sure she could admit to them that she had been put on leave for the unforeseeable future from her job. It had not even been a month since that day. It was supposed to have been a straightforward rescue, instead it had gone horrible wrong. They said it was best for her mental health that she took a break, at the time she had objected. Right now she reluctantly agreed with them. That accident had shaken her up a bit, even the plane crash left her feeling less than steady. When she looked over at Virgil as he played, she could see he was trying to formulate a way to ask her himself. Lucia could only assume that’s why he had personally come. “Grandma told us.” she said softly but loud enough for him to hear her and was met with a groan in response.

 

He should have known Grandma would have told them, somehow she always knew and it was impossible to keep anything from the woman. She was uneasy, Virgil realised by the tone and softness in her voice. “You’re under no obligation to accept but I can’t deny the fact you handled 2 better than anyone expected and I heard you’re a Rescue Paramedic. It was not exactly an easy decision for us either to ask the both of you.” Okay, that may have not been the most comforting sentence of words but Virgil wanted her to know, she deserved honesty. “What if I can’t say yes?” Lucia replied after a moment of silence, her hand coming to a halt on the keys. She needed to know, even though she knew the direction it would sway her answer towards. She still needed to know. “Well, we would just have to make do I suppose.” Virgil side stepped the answer, perhaps not that much honesty. The last thing he wanted to do was force her hand, no good would come of doing that. “You mean to say you would fly despite the risks to yourself.” she probed further, she needed this answer. “We may not have a choice” Virgil was quick to counter back and it was in that moment she realised the extent to which they would go to make sure no one was without International Rescue. Whether she wanted to or not she needed to do this. Much like in her job, personal feelings were often put aside and the needs of those they attended were ranked above. Neither could she allow herself to walk away if it meant he would with further and more serious permanent injury just to make sure no one was without.

 

“I.I’ll do it, but you really need to rest.”

 

There was a moment of silence between the two of them, even Virgil’s hand had stopped playing. He wasn’t sure if he had heard her right at first or not, but before he ask her to repeat what she had said, a loud scream rang out. “Sorry” came the brief apology as Lucia pushed hard against the piano moving the bench back suddenly with both of them on it and in a flash she was at the window. “What’s wrong?” came the voice from directly over her shoulder, causing Lucia to swear under her breath. “What in hell is that idiot up to?’” was the second comment made by the same voice as they watched Scott and Alan rush to the poolside where Ellie a laughing Gordon out of the water. Lucia was now acutely aware of how close Virgil was to her by the hand on the window that appeared to be using to brace himself upright. Turning around she slipped under his good arm, wrapping her left arm low around his waist as she took some of his weight. She could see the pain on his face, though it looked like he was trying to hide it. She could only hope he hadn’t done more damage to himself in moving quicker than he should have. Lucia maneuvered him to one of the lounges and helped him down. “Where’s it hurting the most?” she knew Gordon would be safe with Ellie, Virgil however was her top priority. “Ribs” came the low sucking voice, as he forced himself to breathe through the pain that was slowly beginning to abate a little again. “May I?” Lucia asked indicating to his ribs and on his nod of a reply she gently slid a hand beneath the sling on his arm and under his shirt. Her fingers slid across his smooth skin until she reached where she knew the injuries to be, there was a sigh of relief from her. Everything still felt stable. As she looked up back into Virgil’s brown eyes she could see they held concern.

 

“Rest. I’ll go check on him” Lucia reassured as she lay a hand over Virgil’s good one and gave it a squeeze. Having checked him over she felt more at ease in checking on Gordon and she knew he would too. “Thanks” the words were all the permission she needed to leave his side and in a moment she was racing down the stairs to the kitchen where she knew she would find them. What was the idiot doing indeed, jumping into a pool while practically paralysed. What indeed.


	8. Squid Girl

Ellie stepped out on to the terrace and walked to the edge where it overlooked and partly overhung the pool. Sitting down on the edge, she slipped off her shoes and placed them to one side. Her legs weren’t long enough for her toes to reach the water, not that she minded at that moment with she view she had before her. It was quite a breathtaking view and Ellie found herself envious. This was far more beautiful than any view from the beaches she worked at and they had asked her to stay. It wouldn’t be forever, she knew that. Compared to Lucia she didn’t have quite the same experience or breadth of knowledge. One thing Ellie knew for sure was that she couldn’t say no to anyone in need of help. Perhaps there really was no one else, and they had come to her rescue when she needed it. She really was only a beach lifeguard though, compared to everyone else she just felt out of place. With her head spinning with thoughts between acceptance and denial, Ellie found herself looking down at the pool that lay just beneath her feet. She didn’t have any swimmers but the pair of shorts and shirt she had found in the wardrobe that morning and put on would do fine down. Getting back to her feet, she crouched on the edge of the terrace and leaned forwards.

 

There was a small splash as she dove into the water. Enveloped by the water around her, Elle let herself sink towards the bottom. Here she felt and home and all her worries melted away. Pushing off from the bottom she surfaced to float lazily on her back and stare up at the blue sky above her. Slowly she let herself slip beneath the water and with a kick, dove to the bottom again. There was no method to her swimming, no routine or plan. She swam laps for a bit, alternating styles as she went, dove under the water and twisted herself in elegant underwater back flips. Eventually she just closed her eyes and floated, allowing the feeling of the water carrying her take over.

 

* * *

 

 

“Hey Scott, can you park me by the pool?”

 

While the music had been captivating, it was the splash he had seen in the pool that had Gordon captivated. He could only assume who it was out there but he wanted to confirm it.  “What? ..Yeah. Sure.” Was his older brother’s dazed reply as he pushed him out to the edge of the terrace so he could look into the pool. “Don’t try anything stupid, just call me if you need something” Scott warned him as he parked the wheelchair before returning inside to talk to Grandma and get some food in him. His morning run would have to wait for another time, or at least until his brothers no longer needed his help. Now that Scott had left him alone he could focus on the figure that swam beneath the water of the pool. It was Ellie, just as he had thought. Gordon found himself smiling as he watched her swim entirely in her own world, completely oblivious to the fact he was watching her. Leaning forwards, he found himself completely captivated and wanting to join in. Mentally cursing the fact he could barely move his legs, at least he could feel them now and that was better than how it had been. Still she was there and he knew she would ‘rescue’ him in a heartbeat. Besides the water was calling to him as it always had, neither could he resist giving his oldest brother a shock. Ellie was there so it wasn’t like he was doing it alone. At least that was the rational as Gordon leaned forwards enough to tip himself to that point of no return to dive in.

 

The rush of water around him was exhilarating, though the lack of movement in his legs was frustrating at least his arms were fine. Beneath the water he could hear a muffled scream as he lazily drifted under the water using his arms to propel himself. He could see the hazy and yet concerned face of Ellie as she swam down to him and flashed her the most brilliant smile he could. Looping her arms under him she pulled him to the surface and the edge of the pool where she held them. Gordon still grinning like an idiot at her as held onto the side of the pool.

 

“Hey Squid girl, nice catch.” At his words, Gordon watched her face contort in a myriad of expressions. Her mouth opening and closing like a fish as she tried to form the right words. “How stupid are you! Why would you do that? What if I hadn’t noticed? What if I hadn’t been in the pool? Would you have jumped in then?” The words tumbled from her mouth faster to form questions faster than Gordon could comprehend them. In an instant he felt more guilt wash over him than Scott had ever managed to heap on him for some troublesome prank he did as a child. It was actually seriously distressing her, he realised seeing the tears well up in her eyes. “Ah jeez Ellie, I’m sorry. I really am. I shouldn’t have done it.” Reaching out he pulled her closer to his body with one arm. He felt her bury her face against his shoulder, while her body shook with alarm.

 

Perhaps that had been too much, and Gordon was kicking himself for not trying to find another way to get her attention. After all he still needed to get her to agree to look after 4 for him. “Hey, Ellie. I wanted to ask you something.” Gordon knew the moment she lifted her head and looked at him that she knew what he was going to ask. “Grandma huh?” he asked and was met with a cut nod. That woman was worse than Scott sometimes, if anything Gordon was glad of the many times Virgil had bailed him out of cleaning duty and the likes. “Then you know I want to ask you to pilot 4 for me and that Virge is asking Lucia now” he didn’t want to pressure her into an answer, he was actually glad that Grandma had told them. Any extra time no matter how little to think was always a good thing. “I don’t want to leave you guys short, but I’m only a lifeguard. That’s all I know.” Ellie still hadn’t made up her mind, she wanted to know how she could help first and foremost. “I need you to look after 4, we don’t get many water rescues but we’re needed. You only need to worry about swimming and learning to control 4. Dad’s promised Alan that if he kept up with his lessons he could take over my non water duties if he’s not needed in space. Trust me, we do need you. I need you.” Gordon gave Ellie a squeeze of reassurance, he wouldn’t have asked if he didn’t think she couldn’t do the job.

 

Ellie wasn’t entirely sure what to make on it, but from her view of the terrace she was kind of glad she could now see Scott rushing out with Grandma, Alan and Brains. At least they wouldn’t be stuck here much longer. She wouldn’t admit it but her arms and legs were starting to ache from treading water for so long while holding onto him and the side of the pool. She was startled if anything by the level of confidence he had within her. If he had confidence in her, to have someone believe in you was a wonderful thing. Especially in her work, things did not go well if you didn’t have confidence in your team or it members. “Okay.” Ellie said with a nod, “Okay yes?” came Gordon’s reply as his face lit up, it was infectious enough that Ellie found herself unable to be angry with him further and smiled back. “Okay yes.” She replied as the others reached them. She helped them lift Gordon out and pulled herself out and moved to sit by his side.

“I am never doing that again.”

 

Gordon’s first words made everyone laugh and every bit of anger Scott or Grandma or anyone else had been holding dissolved when they saw his smile and heard his admission. It was perhaps his sunny nature that if anything got him out of trouble on many an occasion as a child and still did today with family. “Lucia?! Is everything okay? Is Virgil alright?” it was the sound of Scott’s voice as he raced to meet Lucia at the edge of the terrace that came out of the kitchen before the big step down to the pool. Gordon and Ellie watched as he lifted her down the drop and she shook her head. “He’s fine Scott, he’s resting upstairs. I heard Ellie scream and seen Gordon in the pool from upstairs. I came to check on Gordon for your brother’s peace of mind.” She reassured him with a squeeze to the arm before turning to march towards them, fully intent on giving him a what for until she saw Ellie’s face. Crossing her arms, Lucia levelled her gaze on Gordon.

 

“Right then, Back to the infirmary for you. Once you’ve been checked out I can give your brother the glorious news that you, despite a lack of any common sense are still alive and intact.” The comments were met with another round of laughter from everyone. “I don’t need to say anything little brother, she’s got you pegged there.” It was Scott with a hand patting Lucia’s shoulder from behind while almost doubled over in laughter, giving her shoulder a squeeze he looked at her. “I take it you accepted” and at her nod, “Well you’ll fit right in just fine.” As he walked passed her to kneel down and scoop Gordon up into his arms. “Well, infirmary first and then dad wants to talk to everyone.” It seemed as though the patriarch of the house was awake and waiting for them all to come join him.

 

* * *

 

 

Once Gordon had been given the all clear they had returned to the living area and gathered on the lounges and chairs around the table that Jeff Tracy leaned against having left his desk. In patient silence he waited until everyone had gathered, thankfully those rescues that had come in John had found help within the area that could get them out in time. There was little time to waste and he needed to know the answers of the girls now. Once he did they could get the ball rolling in adapting what equipment they needed to for the girls to use, especially considering the height difference between Lucia and Virgil. Well truth be told he only needed to know Ellie’s decision. He had already heard Lucia’s, in fact he had heard her playing and for a moment he found himself reminded of his wife. Lucille had so loved the piano and the joy and talent Virgil possessed had come from her. I fact she had taught him from the moment he had shown interest right up until she has passed. Until now Virgil had been the only one to play on the Island. So he had listened in the shadows and watched her and Virgil speak.

 

“I’ve gathered you all because as you know we have a situation here at home to fix. Firstly though Lucia, Ellie have you given thought to what we have proposed and have an answer?” Jeff Tracy was not a man to beat around the bush when it came to wanting to know an answer for something. Actually he was not a man to beat around the bush for any reason. Neither was he about to let Virgil and Lucia know he had been practically eavesdropping on them. “We accept” It was Ellie who made the reply after looking at Lucia who gave her a slight nod. “Good, I had hoped you both would. I’d like to introduce you both to Brains, he’s the man behind the machines and technology. He’s going to need you both so he can make the adaptations required. While you are both doing that I will however need your full names and where you currently are employed so as to make the connections to let them know we will be borrowing you both for the time being.” Jeff replied without delay, he wanted to get things moving as soon as he possibly could. He also needed to talk to his sons about how they were going to go about teaching the young women what they needed to know.

 

“Lucia Anderson, I’m based at the Stromlo Rescue Centre.” Lucia made the mental note to approach Jeff later. She knew he would hear why she was on leave currently when he contacted them but the least she could do was let him know it wasn’t going to affect her here. “Elizabeth Wilson, I’m a Lifeguard for the Sutherland Shire Council in Sydney” There was a pause when everyone gave her what appeared to be a somewhat confused look, “Ellie is my nickname, I only use Elizabeth for paperwork.” She explained quickly with a chuckle before she looked towards Brains with Lucia. “R.r.Right, well l.l.let’s get you both d.d.down to my l.lab, so we can get s.started.” he stammered with a smile, motioning for them both to follow him. As soon as they were both gone Jeff turned towards his boys, “I’m going to make these calls, when I come back I’m hoping you have all worked out how we are going to train these girls in what they need to know. It’s only a matter of time before we get a rescue that John can’t find outside help for.” Jeff set them the task before leaving to stand out on the upper terrace to make the calls. It did not take long to find the numbers or people he needed to contact. Neither did it take long for him to discover the concerning news about Lucia and the reason she had been assigned indefinite leave. By the time he had returned inside, the boys had come up with several ways to combat the lack of experience in some areas the girls would produce. For the first time since hearing two of his sons had been injured, Jeff felt an odd sense of relief.


	9. Secrets

The rest of the day had been one exhausting thing after another, from uniform measurements; because it was also for safety gear and after all, they would need it. To building smaller versions of Virgil’s adaptive gear for Lucia, to learning the basics about the craft they would be flying or diving in. Even in a wheel chair, with 4 dry docked Gordon was able to do the run through of 4 with Ellie. For Lucia however it had been Scott to walk her through 2, he had co-piloted her before and knew the basics. Virgil however had been ordered to bed rest much to his resistance over it. He had been placated with the promise he could take Lucia’s next lesson if he was good and rested. Thankfully aside from the communications array and auto pilot, the rest of the damage to 2 was cosmetic. With Brains on the job even the repair of the coms and auto pilot were not going to take long to rectify. One of the first things Lucia learned how to do was a hard reset, to be used in only the direst of emergencies when 2 lost all power. Something she hoped would never ever happen. Once 2 had been repaired they would start with some flying practice around the Island before she got her first solo flight. All they could do was cross their fingers and hope they would be given the time they needed or even just a day or two.

 

Night had fallen by the time they had finished up with everything, time however had been made to make sure they could all sit down for dinner together. There was laughter a plenty and Lucia was implored to play for everyone after the meal had been completed. Cheeks flushed red, Lucia found herself unable to say no and while everyone had settled themselves into the lounges with their cups of coffee, tea or hot chocolate. Lucia found her place at the piano and with a little nod from Virgil began to play. It was a different song than before and another from her memory, it too started off slow and shaky until the song was playing in her mind and her fingers remembered they keys. She played until she could play no more and everyone thanked her before excusing themselves to retire to bed.

 

Eventually the only two people left in the living area was Jeff and Lucia. A long silence hung in the air between them at first, the only noise to break it was the paperwork that Jeff shuffled before filing away. Finally, Lucia gained enough courage to approach him, by now he would know why she had been given leave. “Mr Tracy, there’s something I want to talk to you about.” She said as she paused to stand in front of his desk. Mr Tracy looked up from the new document that had surfaced from beneath those he had shuffled and just filed away. “Of course, Take a seat Lucia.” He said as he placed the document back down onto the desk and indicated for her to follow him and sit beside him at the piano. Lucia followed quietly and sat beside him on the long bench she had only so recently vacated. She paused for a moment with her hands in her lap before she spoke, “I know you would have heard by now, but I wanted to tell you myself. I understand if you no longer consider me to be fit to assist you.” Her tone held an air of defeat as she stared at her hands that she wrung in her lap nervously. Reaching out Mr Tracy placed a gentle hand on hers and gave it a squeeze, “I have, but I would rather hear your side of the story as well before I make any decisions.” His voice held a reassuring tone to it as he waited for her to continue.

 

Lucia took a deep breath and nodded, “It happened nearly two months ago, we got a call of a father and son who fell off a ledge when the snow they were skiing on collapsed beneath them. The local snow rescue couldn’t reach them so we were called in to winch them up and airlift them out. It was meant to be a straight forward rescue, the conditions were clear and it didn’t look like there were any incoming weather systems on the radar. It wasn’t until we arrived and I sent my partner down that I realised it was my father and brother. I knew they had planned to go camping for the weekend but they hadn’t told me where. Mum died when I was just a girl so it had pretty much always been the three of us. If we had known who they were before we left, I would not have been allowed to go along.” Lucia took a moment to swallow back the tears that threatened to well up in her eyes and spill over. “By the time my partner got down there, we found out my brother had already died. The coroner said he had died on impact, Dad couldn’t handle carrying all the gear he used to anymore so Aaron used to carry extra. Apparently if he had not of been carrying the extra there was a chance he could have survived. Dad was alive but in a bad way.”

 

In her lap Lucia’s fists balled tightly as she forced herself to keep it together and continue. “I don’t know where it came from but I thought I had been given the signal to go up, so I went to take her up. Next thing I know they’re screaming at me to go down when this wind hits us out of nowhere. I managed to keep the heli from hitting the mountain face but it was too late to save them. My partner had not managed to get clipped back in when I went to pull him and my father free. He fell when I lifted her up and the wind hit. My father was in the basket that slammed into the mountain face when the gust hit. Somehow with the snow rescue we managed to get them all out, my father and my partner died a few days later in hospital. I was put on indefinite leave, It was about three weeks before I could bury my brother and father. I didn’t stay at the funeral long, I couldn’t handle the looks everyone gave me. I never went to my partner’s funeral. His wife specifically requested that I wasn’t in attendance. Even though everything was ruled an accident, it was recommended that I be put on an indefinite amount of leave until cleared again for active duty. Then this all happened and Virgil was saying if there was no other way he would try to fly with his injuries and I just thought of all the people that wouldn’t be saved if I were to say no and you were unable to continue and I couldn’t bear it to be my fault. I couldn’t say no. I couldn’t let anyone else suffer due to my short comings.” The tears poured down her eyes then and she felt an arm wrap around her shoulder and pull her in close. Lucia sat wrapped in Mr Tracy’s arms until eventually her tears stopped and he pulled back to wipe them away.

 

Absentmindedly he ran his fingers over the keys of the piano, plucking at a note here and there. “I see. Let me tell you a story Lucia. You know the reason I started International Rescue was because of Lucille. She was my wife, my best friend and my partner. She lived for the boys, you remind me of her when you play. Virgil of course was the only one who showed interested in learning, though if any of the others had half an inclination I dare say they would pick it up quickly too. Alas I digress. It was when Alan was about 3, we decided to go on a family holiday together. It had been so long since the last between how busy I was with work. So we went skiing together. We took my mother along to help us take care of the boys. She was watching Alan and us while Lucille and I decided to go for a ski together while the boys were having lessons.” Jeff paused for a moment and Lucia could tell it had been a very long time since he had spoken about it to anyone. Impulsively she reached out and squeezed his hand reassuringly as he had just done for her. A small smile cracked the usually stern face the father usually held. “We were skiing when the avalanche hit. We weren’t able to out run it, I got lucky and was dumped near the surface and could get myself out. I couldn’t see her anywhere, it was hours before the rescue team arrived and their equipment was so far out of date that by the time we found her it was too late. I lost part of myself that day and I vowed and declared that I would find a way to make her death mean something. She would have been alive today if their equipment was to standard and they had been able to arrive quicker. Lucille is the reason International Rescue came to be, between caring for the boys I threw myself into finding a way to make it all possible. Brains was only to happy to come aboard, of course Scott and Virgil insisted on helping once they had finished their studies, but I insisted they pursue careers of their own as well. I had a few buddies from my days as an Astronaut help out at first. We didn’t get much traffic in the beginning but by the time the boys were old enough and had pursued their own careers we were well and truly in business so to say. I’ve given them all the chance to pursue their own dreams and make their own lives but they’re all determined to stay. Do you want to know what I said when they asked if I was sure I wanted you?” Mr Tracy looked at Lucia to be met with her puzzled expression.

 

“What?” she asked with baited breath, almost not wanting to know. “I told them that I did. I told them I understood what you were going through and you didn’t appear the kind of woman who would intentionally endanger lives. What happened was a tragic accident, much the same way I lost my wife to a tragic accident. I wanted to blame the rescuers for her death but it wasn’t their fault they were unable to traverse the terrain quickly enough to get where we were. It wasn’t their fault the equipment they had been supplied with was out of date. Just as you had not intentionally caused the death of you father or partner. The fact that you are willing to put aside your own grieving and help others. The strength you showed today, proves to me I have made the right decision. All I ask is that you come to me if anything worries you or if you need someone to talk with. I will not tell the boys as that’s is up to you but know we are here for you and Ellie. We rely on each other.” Mr Tracy patted the hand Lucia had over one of his softy, “I promise, are you sure?” Lucia asked tentatively. “Very sure, now I think it’s best we both retire, another long day awaits.” With that Jeff Tracy stood and offered Lucia his arm out of habit, he had perhaps escorted Lady Penelope one too many a time. Graciously Lucia took it and he walked her back to her room, “Good night Lucia” he whispered as they reached her door. “Good night Mr Tracy” Lucia whispered back as she moved to slip through her door. “Jeff, Lucia. No more of this Mr Tracy.” He replied, “Alright then. Good night Jeff.” Was Lucia’s reply before she closed the door behind her and made way to change before slipping into bed, noting Ellie had long since fallen asleep if her snoring was anything to judge by.


	10. The First Rescue

Three days, they had been miraculously graced three days before the first rescue that actually needed Thunderbird 2 happened. They had all been practicing hard, thought using Virgil’s route to get to 2 had been rather comical at first. While Lucia hadn’t managed to miss the landing quite yet she had due to her height been unable to shut the top hatch and on a few occasions had slipped right over upon landing. The first time however she had frozen at the last moment and was left swinging from the bars for a moment before dropping into the cockpit to land on her butt. Oh she was yet to live that one down with the boys. To make it worse that first time they had forgotten to remove and disable Virgil’s uniform, so not only did she freeze but she hung there dressed in a uniform that was comically oversized on her and boots that fell off her feet as she dangled. Lucia did have to admit it was probably the first time she had seen Scott actually laugh as he helped her up. For a few times after that he waited to catch her until she managed to find her feet in landing every time. To make it easier instead of manually closing the hatch as she couldn’t reach to get leverage, they merely switched back to it automatically closing when she fired up the engines. Ellie had taken to piloting 4 like a natural and even Gordon was recovering well, he could manage to stand and walk for a few steps but was still mostly confined to a wheelchair. It would still be several more weeks before Virgil would begin to see improvement though. He had mostly taken to sleeping in the armchair in his room, it was easier to get out as he found out when he lay down to sleep one night and wasn’t able to get up without assistance. They could all see how frustrated he was getting with his invalidity.

 

Breakfast had been served when John popped up on the coms, “International Rescue we have a situation.” Grabbing a mouthful of whatever they could they all made their move towards the lounge to be informed on the pending rescue. A ferry had unexpectedly begun to take on water, both Lucia and Ellie were to be needed, for an extra set of hands they were to bring along Alan. Scott was to fly ahead and see if he could see a way to keep it afloat until Lucia arrived with back up. Virgil had only just made it to them when the decision had been made, if anything that made him feel even worse and more useless. His eyes met with Lucia’s across the room as she positioned herself at the painting. She passed him a grin and a quick salute of farewell before the painting tipped her and sent her down towards Thunderbird 2. In a matter of moments, the Thunderbirds were go. Though it was not the team most knew and loved. Everything from the launch to the journey to the ferry was as textbook as they could have hoped. Lucia could now handle Thunderbird 2 with ease and even Alan remarked how much smoother she was at the controls. This caused a tinge of pink to rise in her cheeks as Lucia focused on getting them there while Alan and Ellie continued to chatter in the back.  
  
“Thunderbird 2, what’s your ETA?” It was Scott’s voice that had come over the radio interrupting the conversation, “3 minutes and we should be right on top of you, Thunderbird 1.” Lucia replied calmly after giving the nav a quick glance to get the time. “FAB, Thunderbird 2. No need to hurry though, it’s sinking far slower than expected. Send Alan down and we will see if we can’t get the bilge pumps back online while, Ellie patches the Hull.” From the background sounds, it appeared Scott was aboard the Ferry. “FAB Thunderbird 1.” Lucia replied before she looked quickly over her shoulder at Elli and Alan, “Well you heard the man, I’ll drop you in 4 first Ellie and then I’ll take Alan to Scott.” She said, turning her attention back to finding out where she would drop Ellie in 4. “FAB” was all she heard behind her as they left their seats to prepare themselves. It seemed that by the time everyone was ready and in their places, Lucia was ready and in place to launch Ellie. “Ready for the drop Ellie?” Lucia called over the coms, “Ready and waiting Lucia” came the quick reply. “Alrighty, Releasing the pod now.” Lucia replied as she reached out and flipped a few switches that dropped pod 4 into the ocean, far enough clear of the ship but close enough to be of assistance quickly. It was a textbook drop. Swinging Thunderbird 2 over the ferry above Thunderbird 1 she dropped a line, “All clear, Allan. Let me know when you’ve unhooked.” Lucia spoke into the coms, “FAB, Lucia” was Allan’s cheeky reply. He was enjoying being away from home and on a rescue a little too much. In a flash he had slid down the line and was already unhooked and asking questions about the bilge pump before he shot back another reply to Lucia. “All clear Lucia.” Retracting the rope Lucia positioned herself to the side to standby in case she was needed. It might have taken Alan a little time to reply to her but at least he replied and for that she was more thankful than any of the boys would realise.

 

* * *

 

 

“Docking clamps released and door is open. Thunderbird 4 is away” Ellie spoke into the coms to let Lucia know she had landed and deployed successfully. Swiftly she manoeuvred 4 through the water towards the bottom of the ferry, swinging the craft around she came to view the hole in question. Well it certainly explained the leak and why it was a rather slow one, it was barely a hole and more of a small perforation in the side. Ellie had to fight back her need to laugh, all the panic over a hole they could have fixed from the inside. Though she guessed with the bilge pump not working it would be some cause for panic, with that she contacted Scott and Lucia above her, “This is Thunderbird 4, it’s a pretty small hole. I should have it fixed in a jiffy.” At least the repair was straight forward and grabbing the patch she exited out of 4’s hatch and swam to the hole in the boat. “FAB Thunderbird 4, let us know when it’s all fixed.” It was Scott who replied to her as she placed the patch over the hole and began to weld it using the special welder they had for underwater tasks. Ellie was beginning to be thankful for how many times Gordon made her practice these kinds of repairs until she had them to a standard that passed the discerning eyes of the team. “Alright, that should do it. How’s Alan going with the bilge pumps?” Ellie radioed as she swam back to Thunderbird 4. “Almost there, they really need to service these things more often.” Came the groaning voice of Alan as it sounded like he was wrestling with a wrench or something. “There! I’ll tell them to get some new pumps to avoid this happening again.” His voice soon followed again as he triumphed in getting the bilge pumps online and the water pumped out of the ferry.

 

Returning to the pod in 4, Ellie positioned herself and went through the motions of docking 4 back into the pod. This time with none of the issues she had when she first began training. “Docked and ready to go Lucia” she radioed Lucia directly as the door to the pod folded up. With a final check on the pump and the engines for the Ferry from Alan, everything looked to be in order. Lucia was then able to manoeuvre Thunderbird 2 in place to pick him up and then over to Ellie. With a sigh of relief, they all began to head home after seeing the ferry off safely. For a first rescue they really couldn’t have asked for better, straightforward with no injuries and just a quick repair needed to see them on their way. It was really the best case scenario and a perfect “training” rescue so to say. “Well done everyone, I don’t think that could have gone better.” It was some rare praise from Scott that came over the coms in Thunderbird 2. And if Alan had been paying attention he would have seen the rising blush of pride on the cheeks of the girls.

 

Even the landing was textbook when they arrived back home to Tracy Island. “Well done everyone. That was a very good first rescue ladies.” it was Mr Tracy who greeted them as they made their way back into the lounge area. Virgil and Gordon were both waiting there too, compared to the excitement of Gordon who wanted to know everything, Virgil was rather quiet and sullen in retrospect. “If their bilge pumps had been online, they wouldn’t have needed us. The hole was really tiny, a slow leak at worst.” Ellie held her hands out to show how big the hole was eliciting laughs from everyone. “They managed to make it back to land just fine, but it’s more puzzling how they managed to get stranded so far out they required our help,” Lucia added as she came up the stairs with the food Kyrano has made in celebration for a successful first mission. There seemed to be a pause in laughter and a seriousness came over the group. “I wondered the same myself Lucia, so I asked John to look in to it.” Jeff Tracy said as he reached out to help Lucia with some of the plates.

 

It came almost naturally to Lucia to bring Virgil’s plate to him after she cut up the food into bite sized pieces. She placed it on his lap gently as she came to sit beside him, she had left a fork on the plate. She hoped at least that bit of independence in having one good arm would make him feel a little less babied than if she fed him herself. “She flew really well today.” Lucia informed him between mouthfuls of food. She could only imagine how he was feeling being stuck behind when everyone else went out. “Yeah, Brains is pretty amazing.” Came his reply, she could tell that eating was perhaps not the most comfortable thing at that moment.  She put her plate to the side and returned with a glass of water for him. Eventually the silence between them grew and after being comforted in the fact he was doing okay she went to find Scott. Lucia found him standing by the by the look out over the pool. He smiled at her when he realised she was there, “Hey there, you did well today.” He said resting a hand on her shoulder as she came to stand beside him. “That’s cause I had a good teacher.” She shot back at him with a playful push. It may have only been three days but both the girls were fitting in well.

 

“So how was your first repair? Exciting?” Gordon asked Ellie as she sat next to him, she met his question with a huge grin. “Really exciting, though if it wasn’t for you teaching me that trick I don’t think it would have turned out quite as well.” She replied and Gordon’s cheeks reddened with a blush. “Glad it could help.” He replied shyly rubbing the back of his neck. The pair continued their conversation until some hours later when Scott was called out again and this time Lucia followed him in 2. It wasn’t anything difficult, just time consuming and needing the equipment provided by 2. It was late at night by the time both of them returned exhausted and after saying their good night to each other, retired to their rooms for sleep.


	11. Ellie

Three weeks had now past since the plane crash, Gordon was completely wheelchair free and had begun rehab to regain the strength he had lost over the course of it. Ellie found herself by the pool watching him do laps as she dangled her legs in the water. He really was a beautiful swimmer to watch and she could see how he had managed to win gold for butterfly in the Olympics a little over a year ago. His stroke and technique was admirable, as was the power he got when he pushed himself a little. She found herself wondering how much of a place she still had with them once he was back to strength. With how quickly he was recovering she wondered just how much use she could really be to them. It was only temporary and certainly it had been a great experience so far. More than anything she was worried about the attachment she was forming to everyone, especially with Gordon. He was funny and witty and as bad as his jokes were, they always managed to make her laugh. He wasn’t upset that she had taken his place and if anything he had been incredibly helpful to her. Even when he was confined to a wheelchair he didn’t lose his spark. Leaning back Ellie let herself stare up at the sky, it didn’t take long for her to realise this had been the longest time she had been away from her parents. It had been cheaper for her to live at home with them and her little brother, she had never gone on a holiday longer than two and a bit weeks. She couldn’t remember the last time she spoke to them over the phone. Probably around the same time they arrived on the island, after it had been decided they were staying and helping. She had not been able to tell them much, just that she had been requested to assist a rescue agency with water rescues and she didn’t know how often she would be able to get in contact. But that despite the plane crash she was just fine. Though she assumed it wouldn’t take long for them to clue into where she was. Her parents were rather avid news readers and could likely put two and two together after reading the news story. She really missed them, especially her little brother. Wouldn’t be long and he would be starting his first year on the beach as a nipper. She had hoped not to miss that, but now she wasn’t so sure. After all it was already late into August, which meant winter was almost done and then they would be into Spring. At least for them in the Southern hemisphere. Man that sent her back though, she could still remember her first time at nippers on the beach. She just couldn’t wait and from there she just kind of stuck with it and went from nippers up to a clubbie and then eventually a part time employed life guard for the Sutherland Shire. For her it had been her dream job and she always knew what she wanted. It hadn’t been easy but she had worked for it and her parents had been right there with her, every step of the way cheering them on.

 

Staring up at the sky and the clouds she made a mental note to ask Mr Tracy if she was able to give her parents a call and let them know how she was going and wish her little brother early good luck at his first day at nippers. Just in case she couldn’t make it or give them a call beforehand. Ellie’s eyes wandered when she caught a glimpse of Lucia staring out the window by the piano. Lucia never had told Ellie about her family, loved hearing about Ellie’s family and her younger brother. Ellie could recall a brother that was mentioned in passing once but aside from that, nothing. She hadn’t even called anyone when they were given the chance to let their families know how they were going. It was almost with horror that it dawned on Ellie that there was a very real possibility that Lucia had no loving family, or she had been disowned. Either one was heartbreaking and she covered her mouth with a hand in shock. She didn’t have much of a chance to dwell on it as she was splashed by the water the body lifting itself out of the pool beside her created. “Whatcha thinking about squid girl?” the voice quizzed as the body lay down beside her. Ellie gave Gordon her best smile, she wasn’t one to spread rumours and if Lucia felt she needed to share than Ellie had faith she would do so when the time was right. “Just realised I may miss my brother’s first day at nippers” if she were being honest that is what was bothering her the most.

 

“Nippers?” Gordon queried, the word was a foreign one to him. “Ah,” it dawned on Ellie that it was probably an Australian thing. “It’s run by our royal surf lifesaving club on the beach, it teaches the kids beach skills, like how to use a board and other activities. Kind of an introduction to beach lifesaving. I did it myself when I was a kid and from there I became a lifeguard.” She went on to explain as Gordon listened intently, his face lighting up with interest. “Don’t think we ever had anything like that, then again us kids mostly grew up on the ranch. Sound like a great program. How young do they start?” he asked, to Gordon everyone should have great water skills or at least know how to competently swim. “Usually they start around 5, thankfully my brother turned 5 before I went away so I didn’t miss his birthday or his first day of school.” Ellie breathed a sigh of relief, she was super glad she had not missed that. She was only a few months off 15 when he was born and despite their age gap had doted upon him. As such they were pretty close. “It starts in October if that was your next question.” Ellie added sticking her tongue out at Gordon before he could ask his next question. Judging by the amused look on his face she was right about his question. “Well then squid girl, you going to join me and show me what you learned.” He shot right back as he slid back into the pool. Sitting up Ellie laughed and reached down to splash him. She hadn’t expected that his arms would reach out and grab hers before she could splash him and pull her in. When she surfaced she tried to splash him again only to be drawn up into his chest.

 

Suddenly Ellie was all too aware of the bare skin of his chest, pressed against the skin that wasn’t covered by the bikini she was wearing. She could feel the heat rising in her cheeks as he looked down at her with his chocolate brown eyes. “What else is bothering you?” he asked in an oddly serious voice, leaning in to press his forehead against hers as they tread water by the edge of the pool. Ellie averted her eyes, so he had noticed and it was then she wondered how long he had been watching her for while she was lost in her thoughts. “I’m really going to miss you all when I leave.” There was an implication in her voice that she assumed it would be soon, probably as soon as he was cleared for active duty again. “Hey, Ellie. Dad won’t ask you to leave until we know we can handle things without the help of both of you. I don’t think he will make you leave before Lucia does, even if I’m all better.” Gordon assured her as he stopped treading water for a moment to stroke her cheek with his free hand and as they sank under the water he leaned in closer.

 

For the rest of the day after that there was a perk in Ellie’s step, as if seemingly all her worries had been taken away. It had even been a quiet day for all of them, which meant some maintenance work as well now that their little bit of leisure time was over. For the rest of the day the boys and Lucia spent it puzzled at the unusually good mood of not only Ellie but Gordon too. Though it wasn’t until that night that after a little bit of prodding Lucia found out why Ellie had been in such a good mood. When just before the sun rose on the horizon and before Lucia awoke for her morning run. Ellie slipped out of bed and made her way down the hall and down to the pool. A broad grin spread across her face when she saw Gordon sitting by the edge waiting for her with flippers, a mask and snorkel for the both of them. He couldn’t quite take her diving yet as the tank was beyond his allowed limit to lift, but he had every intention to do so once he was given the all clear. Handing her gear to her, he tentatively took her free hand in his and guided her down towards the beach. They were just in time to see the sun begin to rise over the horizon and pulling on the flippers and the snorkel with the mask, she readily took Gordon’s hand again and followed him into the water. He was right about their little reef, it was beautiful to swim through. They didn’t stay out too long, partly as Gordon was beginning to tire and ocean swimming was a different kettle of fish than pool swimming when it came to tiring someone out. He knew better than to temp mother nature or push limits he shouldn’t push yet. Besides he still had the last scolding he received from Lucia ringing in his head. Pulling his flippers off and pushing the mask up off his face and onto his head he made his way to the blanket they had laid out. They had known each other a little more than 3 weeks and despite it not being the first time Ellie had seen it, it was the first time she had seen the scar on his back in full sunlight. Reaching out unconsciously she ran her fingers over it as he came to a stop by the blanket, she watched the muscles under it reflexively contract and move under her touch. “I was 18. It was a crash that almost ended not only my career and my ability to walk but my life too.” His voice was low, it was something he didn’t particularly liked talking about but he knew while Ellie wouldn’t ask, she would want to know. Then again just about everyone knew his story as the comeback kid for the Olympic games who won gold despite a near career ending accident. No one knew of his work in international rescue though. “I know, I kind of followed your story.” Ellie sheepishly admitted which was enough to break the tension as Gordon started laughing. ”Oh I see. Bit of a fan were we.” He teased and Ellie flushed even dark her red before she found herself laughing too. “Of the great comeback kid..never!” she shot back sarcastically with a mock gasp at the end. Their wrist communicators interrupted them and beeped however before either could react to their cheekiness. There was a situation and they were needed. There was just enough time for a quick kiss to the cheek before Ellie ran ahead with her gear to be briefed on the problem.


	12. Lucia

Lucia’s hands danced across they keys of the piano as she played, the last two weeks had practically been back to back rescues. Today was the first time any of them had time to sit and think let alone breathe and recollect themselves. Perhaps the only thing she had managed to do most mornings was join Scott on his morning run and help Brains with the maintenance on Thunderbird 2 between rescues and sleep. How long had it been now since she had arrived on the island with Ellie. She paused mid song to think about it for a moment and now that she thought about it she realised it wouldn’t be long until Virgil had the cast on his arm removed. Which mean it had been about six weeks already. She let that sink in and her playing stopped. Six weeks since the plane had gone down, which meant it was three and half months now since she lost her brother and father. That had passed by quicker than she had expected. It seemed now it was just natural to be here, the air of family and how they looked out for each other both at home and on a rescue. It made her miss her father and brother but at the same time it had been a blessing in disguise. It made her feel needed and part of a family again. There had been some moments where she had felt like it was getting to much but as she promised she had gone to Jeff and he had sat with her and they had talked. They talked about her father and her brother and he talked about Lucille. Talked about her insecurities and worries and at the end of the talk he had walked her back to her room, kissed her on the forehead like a father would and wished her good night. She had come to realise she had more support here than she had back at home. At home she had been hung up high and dry and given nothing but red tape to walk through but no assistance to get through it and return to work. She was supposed to sort it all out herself. Here Jeff was there when she needed someone to talk to, Scott was open and welcoming about having her join his routine morning run. Gordon was always quick to make her laugh and cheer her up if she looked a little down. It was also pretty funny how easily Ellie was startled from behind. Ellie was like the little sister she never had and at the end of the day they talked about everything that had happened that day before going to sleep. She didn’t get to see John much in fact she had only personally met him face to face once when he came down for a week and Alan went up. He had accompanied her on one rescue in that time and they had a really good chance to talk. Again he had thanked her for taking care of his brothers and being there when he couldn’t. She couldn’t really reply any other way but to smile at him. Now Allan, sweet young Alan. Smarter than his own good, cheeky and reckless as his other brothers at times. But he was always eager to show Lucia his inventions, share with her his ideas or work on his school work with her. In six weeks with the number of times he had accompanied her on missions they had become to grow quite close and she fondly looked at him as like a younger brother. She had not seen much of Tin-Tin as she was due to leave the island to go study but she loved to watch the blooming relationship between her and Alan.

 

Her mind then drifted to Virgil. They didn’t often talk much aside from the times he came to check on 2 or when he would sit by her when she was playing. Everyone could tell the strain it was on him not being able to help as he wanted or fly him beloved Thunderbird. Lucia was hoping his arm was good enough in the next week they could remove the cast. At least then he could bathe and shower as normal, depending on how his collarbone was going he might not even need a brace on it after the cast on his arm came off. Those little things could make a great difference, he would also not be in as much pain anymore. She knew pain effected everyone differently. A shadow came over the piano and Lucia looked up to see Virgil’s bright amber brown eyes looking down at her. She grinned at him as she usually would when he came to listen to her play, this time she was met with a grin as he came to sit beside her with more ease than he had in the past. He leaned his right shoulder into her in a gentle bump, “Guess who gets his cast off in a week.” He said, the excitement clear in his voice. It was perhaps the brightest she had heard him since they first met. “Congratulations are in order then.” She said with a wink and began to play the happy birthday tune with a laugh. “Okay.. probably not the right song.” Lucia added with a sheepish grin. The touch on her shoulder was back and she heard a snicker from him. “I suppose it is a little like a birthday. Still a long way to go though.” His merriment and mirth turned a bit sour towards the end. “Yeah I know, but time will fly and eventually it will all be a distant memory.” Lucia leaned into his good shoulder and gave his good hand a squeeze of comfort. Reaching out with her right hand she plucked up a cheery little one handed tune. It was perhaps the best she could do. She had noticed the boys were all good for that. If anyone felt dejected or down, someone would have their hand on their shoulder. Just that simple touch and connection. They were like the family she used to have. That kind of love and support was a powerful thing and Lucia could see why the boys all chose to stay, even though Jeff tried to encourage them otherwise.

 

“Thanks Lucia” Virgil’s voice was low and he laced his fingers with hers. “Thanks for saving my life.” It was those words that made Lucia’s hand drop on the keys suddenly with a chorus of mismatched notes. She could feel the words, ‘just part of my job’ trying to escape her but what she didn’t expect were the words that would come out instead. “If anything you saved mine, you all did.” It was a little more truth than Lucia had expected but now that she had said it there was no taking it back. Not that she wanted to as it was the whole truth. While she wouldn’t tell the, why just yet but it was the whole truth. He had saved her and together they had all saved her from a very dark and lonely path. The dark thoughts that had tried to overwhelm her for a while now no longer did. She truly owed her life to the Tracy family, she didn’t know where she would be without them. “I guess we are even then.” Came Virgil’s light hearted reply and together they sat there in silence, leaning on each other. They may not have talked that often but they had spent plenty of time sitting side by side at his piano while she played. Like her, he seemed to take solace within music. This had also become the most she had played the piano in some years. No longer were her starts shaky and her fingers danced across the keys when she played now as they once had when she was a child. Slowly she untwined her fingers from his and bought them back up to the keys and began to play again. It was a slow melody, beautiful and almost haunting in its notes. She remembered a few days ago she had heard Virgil at the piano when she had returned from a rescue. Plucking away with his good hand, she had recognised the tune, despite only hearing it played one handed. She had wanted to join him but she had to check over 2 before another rescue came in, which sure enough it did. Lucia had only remembered it then that she wanted to play it for him, in hopes to cheer him up. Though it seemed he no longer needed the cheering up, she still decided to play it for him. Her fingers danced across the keys as she let herself get sucked into the melody. She had not been this drawn into playing since before she lost her violin. There was an awkward note in her playing which drew her back out and she watch as Virgil used his good hand to show her the right sequence, “It goes this way, I didn’t know you knew it too.” His correction was gentle and his surprise genuine.

 

Lucia smiled back at him, “ah, string habit sorry.” She apologised at first before she repeated what he had shown her and continued to play. “It’s one of my favourites” she added shortly after, while she continued to play. “You don’t usually play piano?” Virgil queried as he corrected her again on a note sequence, “Violin actually, but I lost it in the crash.” It still stung to think of the fact she had lost her beloved violin in the plane crash. However saving lives was a higher priority that day. “Well you certainly had me fooled, didn’t peg you for a strings girl.” He jested with her and was met with a chuckle in response from her. “I believe you once called me a woman of many talents.” She replied sticking out her tongue at him. Their banter was to be short lived though as John popped up on the holo, they had a situation. With a sigh she tried to give Virgil a reassuring smile before she left to find out what the situation was, break time was over.

 

Thankfully it was another fairly straight forward rescue and Lucia and Scott were home again before dinner was on the table. They all mused about wishing the break was longer but they were glad at least they didn’t need all hands on deck this time. Lucia excused herself shortly after dinner, much to tired to be up later in case a rescue came in overnight. After a hot shower she crawled into a pair of pajamas and went to sleep. Thankfully nothing happened overnight and she woke time to change into her shorts and tshirt to go a take her morning run with Scott. He was already waiting by the pool by the time she was dressed and had escaped her room leaving a sleeping Ellie behind. “Yo Lucia, ready to see how far we can get today before we get called back?” he said with a grin and wave when he saw her. “Always.” She replied simply with a bright grin as she ran past him with a laugh. She had made it to the beach when Scott finally caught her from behind and spun around with her in his arms. “Nice try, Lucia.” His voice was low in her ear as she squealed suddenly in delight before bursting into laughter. He stopped and they stood staring out to the ocean with his arms wrapped around her waist. Leaning down he rested his head on her shoulder. If Lucia were to think on it she couldn’t much remember the last time she had been so happy, since the nightmares had begun to abate and she had begun to sleep well again. “Virgil gets his cast off next week.” Lucia found herself saying to break the silence that had come between them as they watched the waves come in. “He’s pretty excited about it.” She added shortly after. She could hear Scott chuckling behind her and he loosened his arms from around her. “So I heard, I was beginning to worry about him.” He said as he pulled away and sat down on the sand, patting the space next to him. “He will be okay, it’ll take time but he will recover.” Lucia did her best to reassure him as she sat beside him on the sand. She could hear the worry in his voice, his concern and need to make sure everyone was okay. After Jeff had told her about how he lost his wife, Lucia could see how Scott would have seen it as his duty to look after his younger brothers. Her own brother was the same when their mother died.

 

“I know, but it doesn’t stop the worry.” Scott replied grasping his hands together on the tops of his knees. At first Lucia said nothing but just leaned in against his shoulder, “My brother was the same when Mum died. Hovered over me like a mother hen, when I announced I was going to become a Paramedic both him and Dad were against it at first. They were afraid I would get hurt. They eventually came around but neither of them stopped worrying about me. It’s okay to worry, just as long as it doesn’t stop you from taking action or supporting them. I wish I still had family to worry about me.” The words came from her mouth before she could stop them, she had thought she could be okay with Jeff being the only one who knew about her family. It had been the last few weeks that she had come to realise how trying to hide it was more damaging to her than helpful. She had not expected it to be Scott that she would talk about it for the first time with someone other than Jeff Tracy. His hands unclasped and Scott reached an arm out and wrapped it around her shoulders with a squeeze. “You got us now.” He tried to reassure her, “But I won’t be here forever and when I leave, I return to nothing.” She didn’t really want to admit to the fact that finding a job after this would be hard. Even if International Rescue gave her a stellar recommendation. She didn’t want to admit to the fact that she would likely have no job to return to. The life after International Rescue was not one she particularly wanted to focus on. Depending on how long rehab took she was looking at six months to a year left on the island before her time was up. “You don’t have any family? Any friends?” Scott queried, it couldn’t quite be that bad, she would be bound to have someone. Lucia shoot her head, trying to ignore the tears that were welling in her eyes. She had to stay calm, she had to remain in control. “No, my parents were only children and their parents had died before my brother was born. So it was always just us. I thought I did, but none of them will talk to me now. Won’t even answer the phone.” She said as she tucked her knees up against her chest. “Whatever it is I don’t think you did anything bad enough to receive that treatment.” Scott’s well intentioned words would have been fine, but he wasn’t to know how it would affect her.

 

There was a sort of choking sob from Lucia as the flood gates opened at his words, “I killed him, I kill their friend.” She almost wailed as she wrapped her arms around her knees and cried into them. At first Scott didn’t know what to do, or say. What was one to say to that? Evidently though she was in distress and if he was going to find anything out he would need to calm her down first. The arm around her shoulder tightened and he pulled her in close. He sat there holding her until he could begin to feel her sobs subside. He vaguely remembered something in the newspaper bought back from a trip to Australia a few months ago. It was about a rescue accident where one of the paramedics and the person they were rescuing were killed when they were prematurely winched up and a wind gust hit. They had debated over the fact on if they should have called them in to do the job or not. Their father however had reminded them that at the time the conditions for rescue could have been ideal, and calling International Rescue unwarranted. He had reminded them that sometimes things happened beyond their control and they had been lucky not to experience it so far. Which then brought to mind the memories of their rescue of Lucia and Ellie. His father had been right. The rescue should have been a straightforward one, in and out and then back home. None of them could have foreseen the events that had taken place. He could still hear the sickening crunch over the coms when the magnet hit Virgil, he could see it even when he closed his eyes. He held her tighter and rested his head on top of hers. “If Dad okayed you then it wasn’t your fault.” They might not have been the most comforting words but to Lucia, they meant more than the vitriol she had copped from her partners wife when she had discovered why and how her husband died. “Part of it was, I thought I had been given a signal to go up when, I had not. The detective that interviewed me told me after that if I had not of gone up when I had, it wouldn’t have been just them in the side of the cliff. How awful it was knowing after the accident. If I didn’t go up I would have killed my whole team and there’s no guarantee my dad and partner on the ground would be okay but by going up I saved my team but killed my partner and my father. You can’t get rid of that guilt overnight.” It was perhaps a simpler explanation than she had given Jeff Tracy, but it was perhaps the only way she found herself about to reply.

 

“I know.. I know but if you had planted yourself into the side of the cliff. Then the people on the plane we rescued you all from may not be here. Virgil may not have been here without you. If you knew before the rescue it was your father and stayed behind, it still could have ended the same. I’m not saying don’t blame yourself, but there are just too many variables to solely place blame on yourself. Without you I could have lost a brother, I could have lost two, without both you and Ellie. For that I will forever be thankful.” The Airforce was not entirely without casualty or action and even he had seen some horrors when he was in the service. In the years they had been rescuing the had faced some pretty gruesome and grizzly rescues. He could remember John after his first rescue just before he was stationed in 5, he remembered his little brother coming back pale faced and shaking after it was all over. Alan had been the same. He had expected the same from Virgil and Gordon but for the most part it had been covered by music in Virgil’s case and poor humour in Gordon’s. They usually made a point to talk about it, to debrief and air the feelings after a rescue since then. Scott was thankful at least that since the girls had arrived, there had not been a rescue that had required such a talk after. They sat together in silence after that until Lucia’s tears had stopped and she had calmed down again. Her apology had been met with a promise that he would always be there for her. They all would be. They had each other’s back, hers and Ellie’s included. She had been about to thank him when john came up on their holo bands. There was a situation and Thunderbirds 1 & 2 would be needed. Doing her best to lighten the mood again she forced a smile at Scott before she dashed off with a cheeky “Race you to the hangar.” A challenge he easily accepted and took off running after her.


	13. Nippers

It had been a week, well eight days to be exact since Virgil had his cast removed and could begin some light physio. Everything but his collarbone had healed but that was knitting itself up nicely. If Vigil played nice it would only be a few more weeks until he could really begin to work on getting himself back to strength so that he could return to duty in six to twelve months. The same day Virgil’s cast came off, Gordon had been given the all clear on his back. It would still be another three to six months depending on how his physio and rehab went before he would be back to active duty. Quite the little celebration party was held in honour of the occasion. Ever since then Tracy Island had seemed to lighten up, Virgil had appeared to be getting back to his old self. Though he still had his limitations he was far more himself than he had been since the accident. The biggest surprise of that night was when Mr Tracy said if there were no water rescues than Ellie could go see her little brother’s first day at nippers. Tin-Tin was due to head out to study in Australia so Ellie was more than welcome to join her on that trip. Somehow it had turned into Gordon tagging along with them. He knew how important it was to try and keep your promises, especially when they included small children. Of course the first thing she had done was call her parents to let them know she was intending to visit for the day to see her little brother’s first day at nippers as promised. From then on she counted down the days until finally the day came. It took some getting used to calculating the time difference between them but by now Ellie had become pretty well ace at it. As such she had ended up waking earlier than normal and was dressed and ready to go long before they needed to. Now all she needed to do was keep her fingers crossed she wasn’t needed today. It didn’t even need to be all day, just long enough she could watch her brother and if lucky have an ice cream with him afterwards. “Excited are we?” she was drawn out of her thoughts by Gordon who was standing behind her. Her excitement was quickly ended when John called them all in for a rescue, Ellie didn’t think she had let out a longer sigh of relief when she found out she wasn’t needed and had been given the all clear to go see her brother and family. Lucia and Scott gave quick hugs to Ellie and TinTin and told them to have fun before dashing off to their positions so they could attend the rescue. More farewells followed before they headed down to the hangar to use the private plane, Jeff would be flying them to Australia. Mostly because he wanted to make sure Tin-Tin was settled into her new school and it’s accommodation. Partly because he didn’t want Gordon attempting to fly when his back was only just cleared.

 

By the time they boarded, Ellie was so excited tears had begun to well up in her eyes. She quickly brushed them away as best as she could while strapping herself in. No words were said but she found herself being offered the hand of the person beside her. Looking up she found Gordon looking at her with concern, “You okay?” he mouthed to her as she took his hand and squeezed it tightly. Ellie smiled tearily and nodded back, “Just excited” she whispered doing her best to get her emotions in check before she got there. Last thing she wanted to do was burst into tears on the beach in front of her brother and a bunch of strangers. With their tech the time differences didn’t end up making that much of a difference and before she knew it they had clearance and were landing at Sydney Airport. If anything this was the place where it all began Ellie mused as they taxied their little plane to the correct parking space. Ellie and Gordon said their farewells and parted ways with Mr Tracy and Tin-Tin at the entrance to the train station at the airport. Descending down the stairs Ellie twisted her hands together as she waited for the train they would need to catch for a few stops before they took the transfer to the train that would take them right to Cronulla Beach where her little brother would be waiting to start his first time at nippers. She had asked her parents to keep it a surprise from him in case she wasn’t able to make it. Two months, it had now been almost two months since she had seen her baby brother and her parents. A hand reached out and took one of hers, fingers entwining with hers. The action made her turn towards the owner and was met with a broad grin from Gordon. He reached out with his other hand and brush the hair from her face before letting it rest on her cheek. Leaning in he pressed a tender kiss to her forehead, “Nervous?” he asked as he rested his forehead against hers. “Yeah, I’ve never been away from them this long.” Ellie admitted, squeezing his hand in comfort as the train arrived. She moved away from him to go board the train, though she never let go of his hand. “Hey, I always have your back. Don’t forget that” she could hear his voice behind her as they boarded the train together. She turned to him as they sat down, eyes suddenly full of worry. “Do you think he will remember me?” suddenly that was the biggest concern in the world. There was a hearty laugh from Gordon, “He’s five isn’t he, it’s only been two months. Plus you are pretty hard to forget.” He added the last part with a wink, which earned a laugh from Ellie.

 

The change of trains was quick as they made their way upstairs to catch the next one. The weather was good, wasn’t too cold for the early morning, little to no wind and clear blue sky. Gordon could tell Ellie was getting more excited the closer the train got to reaching the station. Ellie just about flew out of the train when it arrived at their station, “Come on it’s this way.” She pulled him by the hand and they made their way down towards the beach. It was perhaps one of the reasons she loved her home so much the train stopped so close that it became only a short walk to reach the sand. She was a bit sad she wasn’t joining everyone else this season, but she knew International Rescue needed her more at that stage. She could see where all the kids were gathering as they came down the hill and as they got closer she let go of Gordon’s hand to cup her mouth and yell. “Mum! Dad!” she waved in their direction when they turned at the sound of her voice. “Ellie!” the high pitched squeal of her name came from her little brother as he raced towards her the moment he noticed her. Gordon watched as Ellie raced towards her brother and swept him up into her arms and spun around with him laughing. The moment she stopped she was engulfed in a hug from both her parents at the same time. He didn’t think he had seen Ellie look happier, than she was at that moment in the arms of her family. He slowly walked up behind her, “Ellie?” he asked clearing his throat a little to get her attention. For a moment Ellie had been so absorbed in seeing her family again she had almost forgotten about Gordon. “Ah.” She said as she untangled herself from her parents arms and put her brother back down after one last squeeze. “Mum, Dad this is Gordon” she indicated to Gordon who now stood by herself, “Gordon, this is my Mum and Dad.” She paused for a moment before indicating to her younger brother, “and this is my little brother Oliver.” She said with great pride and affection.

 

“Hi, Gordon. Come on Ellie it’s about to begin!” That was about all a welcome Gordon got from Oliver before he dragged Ellie off. All she could do was give him an apologetic smile before she followed after Oliver. “Well then Gordon, we better join them.” Ellie’s mum said with a smile and looping her arm with his pulled him along with her and her husband after Ellie and Oliver. He watched on with a smile next to her parents as the kids flocked around Ellie and the other lifesavers said hello. Even the lifeguards on duty came said a quick hello and gave her a hug when they past by. She was indeed loved by all and he found himself becoming almost jealous that everyone could get such happy and bright smiles from her. She smiled at Tracy Island but nothing like she was now. When she finally managed to free herself for a moment she came running over, hair bouncing in a messy ponytail behind her and cheeks flushed red. “So how did you two meet?” it was Ellie’s mum who posed forwards the first question the moment Ellie was in earshot. “Mum!” came Ellie’s embarrassed complaint, which served to make Gordon laugh. “Well Mrs Wilson, I think Ellie can tell you better.” He replied with a laugh, “Gordon, Mrs Wilson is my Mother in law. Just call me Leah, the grump worried about his baby girl finally growing up is Jacob.” This of course caused Ellie to snicker, “I am not a grump.” Was Jacob’s reply which only served to make Ellie laugh harder. “Well Ellie?” her mother pressed, eager to know how her daughter had met such a handsome man with such a familiar face. Ellie’s face suddenly flushed red, she couldn’t very well tell them he was International Rescue and had rescued her on the plane. “We met on the plane.” That was really the only thing she could say, at least not without giving everything away. “Oh?” her mother raised an eyebrow as if expecting more from her daughter. “Yeah, she saved me when I hurt my back. Couldn’t do without her or Lucia on the team now.” Gordon added when he could see Ellie struggling, it wasn’t untrue either. “Lucia?” Leah asked, she remembered Ellie mentioning the name before but it was enough to distract her from the fact Ellie had not mentioned meeting anyone named Gordon on the flight. In fact she never used the boys names when talking with her parents. Usually mostly asking about what their week had been like or how Oliver was going. “Yeah she was the girl sitting next to me on the plane, she’s become of the pilots and paramedics for the rescue agency I’m helping out. Gordon works there too.” Ellie added on, now able to think on her feet after Gordon gave her the window of opportunity she needed.

 

“Ellie!” Suddenly there was a sound of screaming and a call of Ellie’s name, turning she saw the reason she had been called. A sudden mass set of waves had hit and when it finally looked to have passed all the water had been dragged back out, dragging the kids and swimmers alike with it. Ditching her shoes and throwing off her shirt, Ellie bolted without a word on instinct towards the ocean and picking up someone’s unused board with a quick apology leapt into the waves and began paddling out. Pulling two kids out of the water she turned to paddle them back to the shore before she dove back in with the board to go collect some more, all the while trying to keep an eye out for her little brother. It was all hands on deck as the Lifeguards and Clubbies were amongst the waves with her plucking kids and swimmers from the water and bringing them back to shore. It seemed like that was the end of it when Ellie bought in the last swimmer she had seen needing help out there. Scanning the beach she could feel the terror beginning to rise in her chest when she couldn’t spot her brother amongst the crowd of swimmers on the beach. She could see the panic in her mother’s eyes as she watched her mother and father race towards her. “Where’s Ollie?” Ellie could hear her mother yell, “I don’t know!” Ellie’s voice was equally panicked as she yelled back, trying not to think the worst. “Ellie!” Her mother gasped, hand covering her mouth as she pointed to the water. Ellie’s eyes followed her mother’s finger to look in the direction she was pointing. Her heart just about stopped and leapt out of her throat at what she saw.

 

There was Gordon, Ollie wrapped in his arms staggering out of the surf. It looked like it had taken every last ounce of strength and will power to rescue the boy. His copper red hair wet and dishevelled almost fell into his eyes. Without further hesitation Ellie raced towards him and wrapped them both in her arms tightly. “Thank you.” She whispered over and over again Gordon’s ear as Ollie wrapped his arms around her neck and twisted into her arms. “You promised but thank you.” Ellie said again as Gordon wrapped his arms around her and leant into her. When Leah reached them she took Gordon’s tired face in her hands and kissed his cheeks, “Thank you.” She reiterated her daughters same sentiment as she reached out to take her wet but safe son from his sister’s arms. Jacob however engulfed Gordon in a warm hug, “This family owes you a great deal.” The action alone was enough for Jacob to look past the fact his little girl had bought a man along to meet them. “Let’s go home.” Jacob said as he pulled away, referring to the Wilson home. After Oliver was given clearance from the Paramedics that were called, they made their way towards the carpark where her family had parked their car. Leah stating they had taken the car, just in case Ollie was too tired to walk home after the first day. Gingerly Ellie helped Gordon into the back of the car before she slid over him into the middle seat. “You okay?” she asked leaning her shoulder on his, while her mother strapped Ollie into his seat next to Ellie. Gordon realised Ellie was right when she said they didn’t live too far away as it wasn’t long before they had pulled up at a lovely beach style house. With some help from her father, Ellie helped Gordon out of the car. It was slow going up the stairs but once inside she had him go lay on her bed whilst she got the ice for his back. She was hoping he had done nothing more than just strain the muscles of the area that had not returned to full strength yet. “Thank you for saving me Gordon, sorry I got you hurt.” Ellie could hear Ollie in her room apologising and thanking Gordon for earlier as she came down the hall with the icepack. Sitting beside him on the bed she lay the icepack across his lower back where he had been hit rescuing her. “It’s alright buddy, accidents happen.” Gordon replied with a grin as he reached out and ruffled Ollie’s wet sandy blond hair with his hand. “You look a lot like the guy on, Ellie’s wall,” there was no hesitation in Ollie’s voice as he pointed to the pictures and news clippings on one side of Ellie’s room. Ellie paled as Gordon looked at the wall Ollie had pointed out, “So you are a fan!” he winked at her and her cheeks flushed a dark red. Getting up she went to the wall and started taking them down one by one and placing them on her desk. “Yeah, you were kind of my inspiration to keep going and never give up.” She lifted an arm to rub at her eyes and the tears that had begun to fall. Perhaps coming all the way here with him wasn’t the best idea, maybe it would have been better for her if she had come alone. Or perhaps even not at all.

 

It was a move that was not missed by Gordon as he asked Ollie to lean in so he could tell him something and then watched the young boy dash out of the room from the corner of his eye. Reaching out he pushed himself up, ignoring the pain as he slid his legs off the bed and stood up. Turning he wrapped his arms around her shoulders from behind and lay his head against the side of hers. He squeezed her tightly, “You’re my hero Ellie. No joke. You saved my life” he whispered in her ear. He felt her hands come up to grasp his arms tightly as she buried her face into them. “You don’t have to smile all the time. We’re all here for you.” He pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek and rested his head against hers until she calmed down. “You should be lying down.” He could hear her say, though her voice was muffled by the fact her lips were pressed against his arms. “That’s Lucia’s line you know.” He teased her back and earned himself a swift swat to the leg in mock offence, he knew she had taken no offence when he felt the smile form on her lips as they were pressed against his arm. “Alright, Alright but I would rather sit.” He replied in mock surrender as he let her go and eased himself back down onto the bed in a seated position. Leaving the clippings on her desk, Ellie returned to press the ice pack gentle against his back. The icepack seemed to do its job in reducing the swelling before it got too bad so it wasn’t long until Gordon was up and walking again. The day was already starting to wane and the sun beginning to set when they were contacted by Mr Tracy. What started as a he would pick them up after dinner became an invite to dinner by Leah. After all it was a while since she last cooked for more than three, she said with a short apology to Ellie. So the great Jeff Tracy found himself at the door of Ellie’s home and being welcomed in with great warmth and delight. The meal was a simple one but it was filled with laughter and flowing conversation, the star topic of the night was when at the end of the meal Ollie looked Gordon straight in the eyes and asked.

 

“Are you going to marry my sister?”

 

To which Leah scolded him for asking such a thing, Jacob stifled a giggle despite the glare his wife shot him. Ellie just turned a particular shade of red one could relate to being the same colour of the tomato based pasta sauce they had on their spaghetti. Jeff couldn’t help but laugh and Gordon. Well he just took it all in his stride, “I don’t know little buddy, maybe one day.. If she’ll have me.” He grinned at Ollie and gave him a wink, glancing at Ellie to gauge her response. By this stage Ellie was so red that all she could do was laugh, and soon enough everyone at the table was laughing and Ollie was left one very confused boy. After dinner he had begged Gordon to read him a good night story, of course Gordon had accepted before anyone could refuse and while he was a bit slow in the walking he walked hand in hand with Ollie down the hall to the boy’s bedroom. Coffee was offered while they waited and they all sat in the lounge room, there was some laughter about Elle’s newspaper clippings of Gordon, Jeff thanked them for raising such a wonderful daughter and once again thanked Ellie for saving Gordon’s life. The flattery of course embarrassed Jacob and Leah, who insisted that they had not done much and Ellie had always been like that and wanted to help people. They missed her but they were proud of what she was doing. Jeff remarked that he too was very proud of her, for her effort and contribution to the team. Citing she had since become an invaluable member. It wasn’t long before Gordon lumbered out and gentle stretched himself as he walked. “He’s a good little fella.” He remarked with a fondness in his voice as he moved to sit beside Ellie. Reaching out he took her hand in his, “Jacob, Leah, Dad” he began. There was a waver in his voice, as if he had planned to do this without Ellie or his father present but they would be leaving soon and he really wanted to get this done before he chicken out on it all together.

 

“I would like your permission to date Ellie.” It wasn’t quite asking for her hand in marriage, yet. But he needed to know it was okay that he could date her with the intention there. That his father would approve of it and that Ellie’s parents would approve of it. He had been expecting rejection, and was fairly well convinced it was a no by the long silence that followed between them all. It was Jeff and Jacob who spoke at the same time and almost the exact same words, “If it doesn’t affect work, then it’s okay as long as priorities are kept in order.” The two fathers stopping to give each other that all knowing nod of acknowledgement. There was just one person left to ask now, “Ellie, what do you say? Will you have me?” Gordon asked with a grin on his face bigger than any she had ever seen before. Squeezing his hand back Ellie laughed and smiled at him perhaps one of the brightest smiles she had ever given him. “Well now that’s settled we should head back before the others decide to send out a search party for us.” Jeff Tracy remarked with a laugh as he stood up. He shook hands with Jacob and kissed Leah on the cheek. They were good people, it didn’t take that much to see. So with a tearful farewell and lots of hugging Ellie left her home again, not quite sure how long it would be until she returned again. She squeezed the hand that held hers, at least she knew she wasn’t alone in any of it. If anything Tracy Island had become her second home and at the same time she was eager to get back and hear what everyone else had been up to while she and Gordon had been away. Luckily they had made it to the airport before curfew and were able to take off and return home a few hours later than they had expected to do so. It wasn’t that far of a flight with their plane but it was still just long enough that Ellie managed to doze off as they made their way home. Back on Tracy Island again she found herself engulfed in a massive hug from not only Lucia but all the Tracy boys and grandma. Gordon however met with Lucia’s less than pleasant words, though she grumbled that at least this time he had good reason and wasn’t being stupid as he was last time. It didn’t take long for her to usher him down to the infirmary for a check over anyway. Thankfully his back was still good, he had managed to strain some muscles so his planned date to return to duty had been pushed back another month to allow him time to recover from the strain and then continue getting the strength in his back. He was thankful that it really only meant a couple of days of doing nothing but resting before the rehab started again. Less happy about waiting another month on his original planned date of returning to active duty. Still at the end of the day it was all worth it and he would have risked his life again for not just her brother but any other child who needed it. He was just lucky Ollie was the first kid he saw that needed immediate help. His lack of original strength disappointed him from being to help more but for the look on Ellie’s face when she realised he wasn’t there and the look on her parent’s faces when he walked out of the ocean with Ollie.

Well now that made it all worth it.


	14. Flash Fire: Part One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author Note: This was meant to be posted just before Christmas haha. However family came first and we got super busy. Happy New Year everyone and hope you enjoy this chapter.

It had been a month since Ellie had gone and visited her parents and brother, Gordon has been given the all clear to begin rehab again and work on gaining back his lost strength. It had been a little over a month since Virgil had his cast removed and his collarbone was knitting together nicely. He had been given some basic exercises he could work on but he was still waiting on final clearance to begin full rehab to regain what strength and muscle he had begun to lose in that arm. They had all only just begun to sit down for dinner when John popped up on the holo, “International Rescue, we have a situation.” In a flash dinner was abandoned as they all raced for the stairs to assemble in the lounge around the coffee table John had brought a holo map up on. They were already halfway through assessing the situation when Virgil came in, he had tried to run after them but the steps were still a bit too jarring for his shoulder. So he had opted to walk up the stairs as quickly as his shoulder would allow it. An oil rig had caught fire in the Atlantic, all attempts to control the fire and cut off the supply of oil had failed. As such the whole rig aside from a small crew that had opted to remain behind, had been evacuated. The only way to rescue them would be from the Helipad. The fire had not yet reached that area and if the winds were good it would be clear of the thick black smoke too. However to help stop the burn they would need to cut the oil source off. They had little choice but in this situation Gordon would ride along with Ellie in 4, he had the deep ocean experience she lacked. It would also be cut off quicker and fixed if Gordon was able to assess it himself. It was all under the proviso that Ellie remained in control of 4 at all times. They couldn’t risk him straining his back again doing something he shouldn’t. Scott didn’t particularly like the decision but he needed Gordon’s expertise with Ellie rather than trying to asses from a distance. Not only that but they were unsure of the depth of the rig’s pipe and going down far enough could mess with the radio and their ability to communicate.

 

Alan would be riding with Lucia in 2 and Scott would fly ahead to assess the situation and pull out those he could reach before Lucia arrived. Virgil would remain at home with Brains and help provide advice from a distance if needed. Jeff was firm on those orders. With everything clear, they all departed. By now it had become routine for Lucia to give Virgil a little salute goodbye if he was there when they left. It had been long enough now that she could ace the landing into Thunderbird 2. There was little time to waste and they were crewed up and launching from the island in only a matter of moments. Thunderbird 1 streaked ahead of them once they took to the skies. They had no time to lose and Lucia pushed Thunderbird 2, to her limits to follow Scott. The last thing they needed was too long a delay between Scott arriving and needing 2’s assistance. Besides they needed 4 there stat, to cut off the oil before the whole thing went up. Even with Scott ahead of them it wasn’t long until they could see where they needed to go. A giant plume of thick black smoke rose from the direction of the rig and spread across the sky. “This is Thunderbird One, the helipad is clear of fire but with the wind I can't get close enough to land through the smoke. What’s your ETA Thunderbird Two?” It was Scott’s voice who came over the coms, and Lucia was quick to answer, “Not more than two minutes out Thunderbird One, I’ll drop four and we will see what we can do about getting those men out of there.” She replied. “FAB Thunderbird Two” was Scott’s clipped reply as he circled the rig looking for hopefully another way to get Thunderbird 1 close enough to hopefully pick up some of the survivors.

 

Ellie and Gordon were already ready and waiting in the pod bay in 4, when Lucia’s voice came over their coms. “Due to the oil spill I’m dropping you a little further south of the rig and upwind of the spill. Last thing we are going to need is a pod full of oil. Be careful out there and do what you can to stablise and contain the leak. While that oil is still pumping the rig is just going to keep burning.” Her voice was steady and clear, it was perhaps their most dangerous mission yet and it was going to require every ounce of skill she and the rest of them possessed. “FAB Thunderbird Two, Preparing for launch sequence now.” Came Gordon’s reply as he sat near Ellie. “Pod’s away, Good Luck guys” Lucia’s voice sounded from the com’s again after she dropped the pod. Within the pod, Ellie skilfully worked the control panel to open the pod door and release their docking clamp ready to launch them into the water. Thunderbird 4 propelled itself through the water and down deep towards the long pipe that ran from the rig to the ocean floor where it mined the oil, that would be stored on the rig before being transported to a tanker ship to be taken ashore for processing. Until either Scott or Lucia got in contact with the men on the rig, they had no idea how much oil she was storing on board. For the moment all they could focus on was doing their job and ceasing the flow of oil. They circled the pipe several times from the very bottom to as high as it was safe to do so. Assessing and formulating what would be their best plan of action. While they were closer to the surface they were able to contact Brains and work out the plans of the rig itself. However deep towards the bottom they were fairly well on their own. Quite honestly Ellie was glad Jeff had told Gordon to accompany her, while it did feel rather weird to be at the controls instead of him. She knew this was something she was not able to on her own. This was all well beyond her expertise and the scope of what she knew about the deep sea and ocean. It was decided that first they needed to try and stem the flow, Brains had loaded 4 with an experimental foam of his that would eat the oil and harden to become a plug preventing oil flow again. The only problem was they needed to cut off the flow to the rig itself first before they could try to plug the hole itself.

 

“It’s okay, we got this.”

 

Gordon said reassuringly as he placed his hand on Ellie’s shoulder upon noticing her apprehensive expression as she tried to focus on the task ahead of them. Both of them completely oblivious to the chaos going on above them as they began to implement the plan of action they had formulated together. While Ellie had not done that many rescues in 4, all the extra practice she had been putting in to learn the controls had paid off. Hers cuts were smooth and the movements with 4 had now become precise. Even Gordon was coloured impressed by her proficiency with the controls now. She had been rather clumsy at first, but that reminiscing would have to wait until after they had done their job. For now he had to focus on getting this rig safe and the oil contained before enough of it built up within the rig for it to blow. Finally it became time to apply the high pressure foam. This was perhaps their trickiest part and Ellie manoeuvred 4 closer and into position so they could inject and apply the foam correctly to the area. With hope and fingers crossed it would do the job. Ellie took a deep breath, sweat beginning to form on her forehead as she concentrated on getting 4 as still as possible while she made to drill an ever so precise hole as directed by Gordon to apply the foam. Now all they had to do was sit tight and cross their fingers and watch to see if it would end the flow of oil as they had been hoping.

 

* * *

 

 

The wind was making it hard to get a good look at the helipad and count the number of workers that they needed to rescue. As it blew thick black smoke across every angle Lucia tried to steer Thunderbird 2 to look at from. Neither did she particularly want that thick black smoke anywhere near Thunderbird 2’s engines if she could at all help it. “Not looking good Thunderbird One, I can barely see the helipad through the smoke,” Lucia called over the coms to Scott, this was not boding well. “Keep trying Thunderbird Two, there’s got to be an opening in there somewhere. I would try to get closer but I can’t risk the smoke getting sucked up into One’s engines,” He replied, there was a worry in his voice she had not heard before. To be honest she was beginning to worry too. If she couldn’t get a clear shot in the next few moments they would be forced to pull four from the bottom and try to perform the rescue from under the platform. But there in lie another complication as Four wasn’t equipped to handle a mass rescue like Two was. For the longest moment it was not looking good for them at all until suddenly the wind changed and she saw an opening. It was really now or never, “Alan get ready with the hoist.” It was the only warning Lucia gave him as she swooped in with two and hovered her above the platform. “Alright Alan, we don’t have much time, get those workers on as quickly as possible.” Lucia called over the coms as she held Two steady and silently prayed to herself that the wind would not change. Especially as they were now in the firing line of having the fire blown over them if the wind blew back their way again. “FAB Lucia” was Alan’s reply. She had been apprehensive about sending him down at first, he was the youngest and more than anything she didn’t want anything to happen to him. She had to remind herself though that he was one of them and had been trained the same as they all had. Though some of them had their specialities, they had all had the same basic training. He was also a Tracy and she had to remind herself of that too. If anything after having lived with them past three months, she had come to understand what it was to be a Tracy and the strength and resilience the family had.

 

Still it was hard for her to sit on the sidelines and watch, watch and pray the wind didn’t change. “Lucia I got everyone but they said someone is still stuck. I’m going back for them.” Alan’s voice crackled over the coms and a sense of dread struck her in the chest like she had been hit by truck. She could hear Scott’s objections over the coms about it being too dangerous. This time she couldn’t and wouldn’t sit on the sidelines. Turning Thunderbirds two over into auto pilot, she descended into the cargo hold and retracted the workers up into the safety of the hold. Once they were safe and clear she sent down a line after them and rappelled down at speed. ”Lucia! What are you doing?” It was perhaps the first time she had heard real fear in Scott’s voice, “It’s far too dangerous for him to go alone and we don’t have the time to argue on this.” Her response was short and clipped as she landed on the helipad and unclipped herself. She fairly well took off at a run in the direction Alan had and through smoke and the heat of the fire she followed the sound of his voice.

 

“Don’t worry I’ll get you out. I just need you to relax for me.” Lucia could hear Alan’s voice getting louder but also progressively closer to the fire. Rounding one more corner and reaching the end of one of the buildings on the rig she finally had them in sight. Directly behind them however bloomed a tower of flame that threatened to spread closer to them. The man in question that Alan was talking to had what seemed to be his arm pinned by falling debris and was unable to move. “Alan, what’s his status?” Lucia slid in to kneel besides the man and Alan who seemed to be having trouble with the debris. “Don’t touch that!” Alan’s voice was panicked as she reached towards the man’s arm and the debris pinning it down. Lucia turned towards Alan and was about to ask why, when she saw the reason. The gloves on his hands looked a mess and she could tell from a glance he likely had some nasty but probably minor burns to them. She supposed now was the time she would finally get to use the handy little gadget that Brains had made for her. Reaching into her side pocket she pulled out a disk she managed to slide in beside the man’s arm without touching the metal that trapped it. A few taps on her wrist pad and she watched as she disk began to expand and push the metal up and off the man’s arm. Getting to the other side of him she gave him a tug and pulled him free. It didn’t look good though and she was going to have to work fast as she went for the med supplies she carried on her and stemmed the bleeding best she could before firmly bandaging his arm up. “Hold out your hands.” Alan almost gave her a ‘I don’t know what you mean.’ Look until he realised she had seen his hands. Defeated he held out his hands to her, ignoring Scott’s calls into her coms as she bandaged Alan’s hands. A better job would have to wait until they were back on the island. “Help me with him would you.” His hands might be burned but his arms still worked and Lucia needed the extra hand getting the injured worker on his feet and into a harness. There was a small pop and bits of burning debris fell at their feet.

 

Lucia realised they needed to go and they needed to go now. “Alan we got to move before this thing blows sky high.” She urged them as a few more pops and cracks echoed behind them. For now the wind was still good and she could see Thunderbird 2 ahead of them hovering where she had left her. Her line still hung down into the middle of the Helipad and Lucia reached out for it as they came to a stop. A loud rumbling noise came from below their feet and looking into the eyes of both Alan and the worker, Lucia could see fear. In one deft movement she had attached both Alan and the injured worker to the harness. Before Alan could try and grab her, she hit the retract button on the line and gave them a push. “Lucia! What are you doing?!” It was Scott’s voice that echoed in her ear again as she rapidly tapped on her wrist pad and had 2 begin to back off to a safe zone. There wasn’t enough room on the line for her anyway without it being unsafe. She would have to find another way off the rig now. By now she meant right now. “Was saving your brother’s life fly boy. So what do you say about coming to pick me up.” Lucia couldn’t help the joyous sarcasm that came across in her voice when she radioed Scott. She finally felt alive again, felt herself. The fact that it came on the brink of death was perhaps not the best moment but at least she finally felt free of her demons. “FAB Lucia, but when we get back you and I need to have a talk.” She knew from the tone of voice it wasn’t going to be a talk of the good kind.

 

Before Scott could manoeuvre Thunderbird One into place to pick Lucia up, there was a loud bang and a giant plume of fire rolled towards him. Pulling out evasive manoeuvres all he could do was watch as the wind changed and the thick black smoke obscured the helipad again. He wasn’t even sure if there was still a helipad as there was another bang aboard the rig and parts began to fall off into the water. A very obvious lean had begun to develop in the remaining legs he could see below the black smoke. He had not felt terror strike his heart like that since he had seen Virgil take the hit on the plane. “Lucia!!” he screamed into the coms, it was followed by Alan’s equally frantic voice. “Scott! What’s going on? Is Lucia okay?” The frantic voices of Ellie and Gordon followed. “John, can you find her?” It was Virgil’s calm voice that cut through on the coms next. “FAB Virgil.” Was all John could managed as he tapped and flicked away on his screens to try and locate Lucia. “Lucia, do you read me? Lucia, come in!” John’s voice called into his radio as he tried to locate her. Getting more and more frustrated by the minutes as every attempt was failing. He couldn’t pick her up on thermal either because everything where she last was standing was as hot as she was. “International Rescue, this is Thunderbird 5. I can’t find her. Dad, Scott. I can’t pick her up on the scanners or over the radio.” John’s voice sounded tired and on the verge of breaking down. “No!” Scott yelled punching the armrest of his seat. He swung Thunderbird One around the rig, trying to find a way through the smoke. He wasn’t going to give up on her that easily, but with the thick smoke that continued to billow it was impossible to see anything. It was also impossible to see through the spray of the fire fighting tankers that were on scene with them doing their best to try and control the fire with their special foam.

 

“Scott, she’s gone. We have to get those workers to safety and Alan needs your help.” It was Virgil’s clear voice that broke the silence that had befallen the cockpits of the Thunderbirds.


	15. Flash Fire: Part Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I'm back! Sorry for the delay. Was busy getting my son ready for starting Preschool this year and making sure his first few days have gone alright. Hopefully I won't leave it too long until the next one. Well here's the end of the cliff hanger so enjoy.

“How can you just give up like that Virg.” It was Alan’s voice that cut over the coms before Scott’s could. Yeah his older brother was always the calm, level headed one but Lucia had been with them three months now. She was practically family now, so was Ellie and you just didn’t leave family behind. “I’m not giving up Alan, I’m being realistic about the situation. Now we have men counting on us to get them to safety. That is our job. I don’t like the thought of leaving Lucia behind any more than you do.” Usually this was something Scott would say, but as their older brother had gone silent, Virgil had easily stepped into that role. “He’s right Alan,” The words were like a kick in the gut to Scott and he hated to admit the fact Virgil had made a call the he normally would have been the one forced to do so. So for a moment they sat, trying to work out a plan of action, they would need to get Gordon and Ellie back on Two some how. But with Alan’s hands fried it was going to be hard. Ellie wasn’t able to fly Two and Gordon was under strict instructions to be a bystander. However it meant that Scott would have to come and fly Two over to collect the pod. Then they would likely have to rely on Gordon to fly the workers to safety and then home. But with so much ship shuffling people were bound to know something was wrong. It was Lucia and Ellie’s voices that rang in Scott’s mind reminding him the world was watching and to find out they had injured personnel was not going to go down well. There was a loud crack and Scott found himself lifting his head to watch more of the rig collapse into the ocean, the fire now being more effectively doused by the tanker’s foam and dispersants. He could get closer now and the black smoke looked like It was beginning to blow the other way again. One last look and then they would go through with whatever plan they had managed to decide. This time there was a ‘thunk’ noise, that was almost swallowed up by the crack of the remaining part of the helipad and rig collapsing into the ocean. Compared to the crack, the thunk made Thunderbird one vibrate in a way that made him look down through the glass canopy beneath his feet.

 

* * *

 

 

Lucia watched as Thunderbird 1 moved into position to pick her up, ‘Hurry Scott’ she thought before she heard a loud bang behind her. Turning around she watched as a giant plume of fire and smoke blasted out towards Thunderbird 1. She could feel and see the wind change as the thick black smoke rushed towards her across the helipad. Before she could turn and run for the edge there was another bang. This one threw her off her feet, sending her flying across the platform and knocking her helmet from her head. The last thing she remembered was hitting something solid before it all went black. A few moments later she came to and slowly sitting herself up against the panel of some sort she had collided with she calmly began to go through her checklist. She coughed as she experimentally stretched each of her limbs out, which to her satisfaction all turned out fine. She would be hurting tonight if she ever got off this rig, but at least that didn’t prevent her from doing her duty as 2’s pilot. That’s if the smoke didn’t get to her first, she could barely see ahead of her, let alone find where her helmet had gone. Apparently not far as she reached around in the gloom for it. Pulling it back on she breathed a sigh of relief when it connected the filter system back up. At least that was working, but her wrist pad and com’s were fried, oh Brain’s wouldn’t be happy with that she groaned. Would the even be able to find her or had they already left. The questions weighed on her mind for a moment and she couldn’t tell at first if it was her imagining the noise above the roaring fire or if the idling hover noise of Thunderbird 1 could still be heard. Her questions were answered when the wind began to shift again and she could just make out the shape of Thunderbird 1 getting closer to the rig again.

 

Ignoring the aches in her body she pushed herself upright and pulled out a grapple pack. Usually this was something Scott carried but she had Brain’s include one in her uniform just in case she needed it. She really only had one chance at it, she realised when the ground beneath her feet began to rumble and sway. Lining up the shot, she waited for Thunderbird one to come just a little bit closer. Then without hesitation she fired it at Thunderbird one, the moment she felt it take purchase she clipped herself into it. Good timing too as the moment she had herself hooked up the helipad beneath her gave way and Lucia found herself swinging in mid air. Hitting the button to retract the line she looked up at the glass window and watched as she got closer and was able to see Scott better. The myriad of emotions that crossed over his face when he saw she was okay made her voice stick in her throat. By his lips moving she could tell he was trying to talk to her over the coms and letting everyone know she was alive. All she could do was use hand signs to explain her radio was out, while she was retracted up the line towards the cockpit. The moment Lucia’s hands touched the glass of the cockpit, Scott rolled Thunderbird 1 and opened the cockpit. There was a startled squeal from Lucia as she found herself going from hanging from the cockpit to lying on it. Then shortly after dropping into it as the glass split in half to open and she found herself falling into the cockpit. Her hand reflexively moved to release herself from the line before she got stuck hanging awkwardly. With a soft thud she felt an arm wrap around her as she landed on Scott. The cockpit was quickly closed and Thunderbird 1 rolled back around. Back the right way around again, Lucia found herself sitting on Scott’s lap now, one arm still tightly wrapped around her waist. In a swift move her helmet had been removed and she found a pair of lips pressed desperately against hers. As quickly as they were there, they were gone again. “I… I’m sorry, I’m just so glad you are alive.” His voice wavered as he apologised and Lucia could tell he was trying to keep himself together. Wrapping her arms around his neck she embraced him tightly, “So I am, I’m sorry I scared you.” She couldn’t really think of anything else to say, except she knew right now they needed to finish their job. They could talk about it all when they got home.

 

“Can you drop me at Two, we’ve got a job to finish.” She worded it slowly and gently as she pulled back from him. “Yeah, let’s finish this, I’m ready to go home.” His voice sounded tired, she knew how harrowing it was to think or even know someone was gone and having to watch knowing there was nothing you could do. The arm from around her waist, moved back to the controls and she watched as they expertly steered Thunderbird 1 away from the now sunken oil rig and back towards Thunderbird 2. She had to get Scott to radio Alan to hit the button to open the top hatch, as her wrist pad was fried. They waited until it had opened and Scott positioned 1’s cockpit over 2’s top hatch and opened it. Lucia paused before she jumped and looked up at Scott. Resting her hand against his cheek she smiled at him, “We will talk when we get home.”. With that said she jumped, there was an overwhelming sense of relief that came over her when she landed within the cockpit of 2. She was safe, she was home. The moment she stood up she looked up to Scott and gave him a little salute to let him know she was safe, before she was almost tackled to the ground by Alan’s arms around her waist. Wrapping her arms around him she held him tightly back. “I’m okay Alan. Now let’s get these workers to safety.” Lucia calmly said as she rubbed his back. Slowly he disengaged from her and she could see his eyes were red. Reaching up she put her hands on his cheeks and drew his forehead down to meet hers. “See I’m okay.” She said softly and then lifting her head pressed a kiss on his forehead. Removing her hands she slid past him and jumped into the pilot’s seat and pulled on a headset.

 

“Sorry to keep you all waiting. Ellie, Gordon, how’s the leak going? Ready to go home?”

 

Now she was in a place of comfort and she swung Thunderbird 2 around to survey the scene. The ships that had been present were now swooping in to try and contain the surface spill and put out the remaining fire that spread across the water’s surface. If Ellie and Gordon weren’t ready she would have to double back for them after taking the workers to the nearest hospital. She didn’t really have time to hang around when she knew the injury of last worker they pulled out would probably mean he would lose his arm, or even his life if she didn’t get him to a hospital ASAP. “Boy are we glad to hear your voice again. Looks like our measures are holding and there is no more leak, so we are ready to go when you are. I’ll check with Dad if we can come back in a few days and check that it’s still looking good.” It was Gordon who answered and by the sob in the background she knew Ellie was most likely crying. Lucia knew she would have to do some big time apologising to everyone when she got home. Well aware of how reckless what she did was. She was just lucky that the gamble she had taken had paid off, next time however she might not be quite so lucky. “John, can you find me the nearest hospital that can take a possible amputation?” her words were clinical perhaps as she concentrated on manoeuvring Thunderbird 2 over the pod to pick up Ellie and Gordon in Thunderbird 4. As soon as she had the pod secured, John came over the coms and gave her co-ordinates and told her they were awaiting their arrival. “Hey Scott, I’ll see you back home.” Lucia called over the coms as she put the co-ordinates into the computer and fired up her rear thrusters. She knew he had to tie up the incident and report the outcome to the GDF and EPA before he could go home. “FAB Lucia” where the short words of reply she got before she left the scene.

 

* * *

 

 

The flight home after dropping the rig workers at the hospital and finding out the man they had rescued first more than likely would need an amputation and was displaying crush injury symptoms was perhaps the longest flight home she had. Well the longest flight home since the day she lost her father. There was a sense of dread about seeing everyone again, knowing that for a while they had probably all thought she was dead. There was partly a sense of relief as well, she was going home safe. She got to see everyone again. But then there was that sense of dread again. Was everyone okay? She might be okay but in those few moments until they heard her voice again they were all convinced she was a goner. Alan’s voice had been low and shaky when he told her Virgil said they needed to focus on the rescue and not on her. How he didn’t want to think that she was gone. How small and childlike he looked sitting in the co-pilots chair with his knees to his chest and arms wrapped tightly around them. How she wanted to go give him another hug and stay there until he was sure that she was safe and it was all okay. How long would it be until they were okay? Would they ever be okay? How much damage had her actions caused everyone? Shaking her head she forced herself to focus back on the task at hand which was to bring Thunderbird 2 and everyone on it safely home. Though by the way of Scott and Alan’s reactions when they saw her safe and alive she knew it would be a while before those feelings subsided and went away. She certainly had not expected Scott’s kiss and while it was brief, it was nice. Though she couldn’t tell if it was out of sheer relief at seeing her again or whether he felt something for her. Pushing it to the back of her mind she rationalised she would cross that bridge with him if and when it came to it. At the moment she viewed the Tracy boys as family, though she was closer with Scott and Virgil out of all of them. She was also close with Alan, though with him she knew she definitely viewed him as a brother, much like she did with Gordon. Then again she already knew Gordon and Ellie were a thing after they had come back from visiting Ellie’s little brother. Tracy Island was in sight again and she had to admit she never got tired of seeing her when she flew home from a rescue be it day or night. It had become like home now, Tracy Island was her home now.

 

Landing Thunderbird 2 without a hitch she manoeuvred it into the hangar wondering if Scott had made it back before her. Once they were all safely ensconced in the hangar and Thunderbird 2 back where she belonged, Lucia left her seat. She reached her arms out to Alan who instantly leaned into her when he had escaped his seat. She held him and whispered sweet nothings to soothe him before pulling back. “Come on lets go get these hands of yours fixed up.” Lucia said softly as she led him over to the platform in the cockpit that would take them down. His hands were really bound to be smarting something awful and the only way to get over her sense of dread at seeing the others was to focus on him. Focus on her job that was providing medical aid to people and assessing the severity of their injuries. She was just about blindsided by Ellie when they reached the ground. Only having just enough time to disengage herself from Alan and catch Ellie as she practically threw herself at Lucia. “You’re okay, You’re alive!. I’m so glad you’re alive.” Ellie whispered over and over again and Lucia could hear her begin to choke up again and cry. “Glad to have you back” Gordon whispered to her as he wrapped his arms around her and Ellie. With an arm around Ellie and one around Gordon she squeeze them both tightly and closed her eyes for a moment to just really feel it. “I got to fix up Alan’s hands, we’ll see you in the lounge after.” Lucia said as she disengaged herself from both of them. She knew Ellie wasn’t happy about letting go but she would talk with her later. They were all safe back on the island again, so she would be seeing her again. On the walk to the infirmary, Lucia apologised to Brains about wrecking her wrist pad and coms, “T..t. that’s okay, Lucia.. J.Just glad, you are okay. T..That’s m.most important.” He had replied to her and Alan had made a half hearted joke about her being lucky he wasn’t angry at her for breaking them like he usually got with the rest of them.

 

At the infirmary, Lucia helped Alan slowly peel back his suit off his arms and down to his waist. Before she undid the bandages she put on his hands and tried to remove the suit from his hands, she went to the cabinet and drew up a syringe of pain relief. Administering it to Alan she sat with him for a few minutes, giving it time to kick in before she attempted his hands. It was very slow going as she pulled the remaining bit of sleeve over his hands. She had cut the suit at the wrists so she could better work on removing the suit from his hands first. It was slow delicate work that she did with calm precision, working to check on how Alan was taking it before she pulled a little more off. By the time she had managed that, she had gained some more company, it seemed they couldn’t wait for her to come up so they would come to her instead. She forced herself to focus on making sure Alan’s hands were okay, last thing they needed was another one of them unable to perform active duty. For the most part the fabric of his gloves had peeled away from his skin when it burned rather than sticking. Judging by the nasty shade of red his hands were the gloves had managed to protect him from a burn much worse. Directing Alan over to the sink she got him to stick his hands under the cold tap she had just turned on. She watched as Scott came over to check on his baby brother while she went through the cupboards to grab what she needed while Alan cooled off his burns. Gordon had moved to sit down to the side with Ellie beside him and left his arm wrapped around one of her shoulders. When she glanced over her shoulder Lucia could see Jeff walking towards her with John much to her surprise, behind them in the doorway she could see Virgil arriving with Grandma Tracy and Brains. Putting the last of what she needed into the tray she had on the cabinet she turned to meet Jeff as he came to stop in front of her. There was a misty look in his eyes and they stared at each other for a long moment before Jeff stepped forwards and warmly embraced her. “It seems we keep owing you a debt of gratitude.” He muttered gruffly before pulling back, leaving his hands on her shoulders as he did. “But I am glad you are both safe.” Jeff had barely removed his arms when Lucia found herself embraced tightly by John, “For a moment I thought we had lost you, I couldn’t hear you, I couldn’t find you and I couldn’t see you.” He spoke into her ear and then realising what he had said and how it could be taken he pulled back from her. “I’m sorry I just had to come see you with my own eyes, to make sure you’re okay.” He rubbed the back of his head with one of his hands.

 

Lucia smiled softly at him, “I know John and I’m okay. I really am. I’m sorry for scaring you all.” She apologised softly and grabbing her tray excused herself and beckoned Alan back over again. The water had definitely taken a lot of heat out of the burn, though it still looked very painful. She breathed a sigh of relief when she noticed that it didn’t seem like any blisters would be forming. Gently she dried his hands before reaching for the burn cream from the tray. She applied it liberally before she reached for the not stick dressings. It didn’t take long her to have them on and his hands bandaged up. “Let’s see how they look tomorrow and we can go from there. Should be right to use them again in a few days.” Lucia said and she reached out to affectionately ruffle his hair. She found herself once again encircled by his arms and held tightly, Lucia’s smile dropped and she held Alan tightly until he began to let go. After tidying up Lucia turned and found she was being watched by them all. It was Grandma Tracy that spoke up first, “Glad to see you’re alright. You had us all worried there for a moment.” She said as she moved forwards to wrap Lucia up in a tight hug. Lucia didn’t think she had ever had quite as many arms around her in one day as she had on this one. Quite honestly she didn’t know whether she should laugh or cry. Granted she really didn’t want to cry. It was going to be a long night she realised when Jeff had her sit down. He could see how this rescue was effecting them all, together they needed to talk about what had happened. Of course Lucia could already see the distress she had caused everyone and she found herself wanting to apologise over and over again. For a moment on the rig she truly believed she was a goner, she reckoned if it had not been for that last minute wind change and Scott being so determined in not giving up on her she probably would have been.


	16. Aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow it's been a while hasn't it. Sorry about that, the story is still not yet over. Some stuff came up in life, so I have been pretty well flat out trying to get it all sorted. I'll do my best to get the rest of it all written up. :) Thanks for all the messages to let me know how much you love the story.

They had all spent the last few hours in the Infirmary going over everything that had happened, ways they could improve and how to possibly avoid such a thing happening again in the future. They had all expressed their distress at Lucia's actions and the fact that for a moment they thought they had lost her. Lucia had apologised again and admitted she too had thought she was a goner for a few moments until she saw Thunderbird 1. But she also added she couldn't have just left Alan behind, especially seeing as without going down she would not have known he had burnt his hands. Pointing out that it could have been him they had lost instead of her. Eventually the yawning started and Jeff decided it was best to tie up the debrief and sent everyone off to bed. He would see if John could divert the calls they got to local units for the next day to give them time to recover from the shock. If John couldn't divert it then they would have to take it, but he was hoping they would be able to have a day of rest. Lucia said she would go to bed soon as she had finished up and she watched as they slowly filed out.

 

Jeff had left with John and Scott had been asked by John to come along as there was something he wanted to talk with him about before he returned to 5. Brains had decided to return to his lab and Grandma Tracy was going to make Ellie a nice hot cocoa before she went to bed. Best way to settle ones soul before heading to bed. Gordon of course had gone with them, quite clearly worried about Ellie.

 

Lucia had almost finished tidying up when she realised that Virgil had been the only one to remain behind. There was an expression on his face she had not seen before as he walked towards her. "Hey" he said softly as she turned to face him. Reaching out he pulled her into his arms, gentle encircling her with them both. Tucking her head against his good shoulder he rested his chin against the top of her head. "You really gave me a scare back there, I thought I had lost you." He really didn't want to admit how close he was to screaming when he thought he had lost her. In hearing his brothers crying out and seeing the paled look on his father's face he found himself needing to hold it together. "I'm really thankful you're alive." He squeezed her as tightly as his body would allow it before pulling back. He reached out to brush her hair away from her face which revealed the nasty looking graze she had received on her temple. "Lemme fix that for you." Virgil said as he led her over to a seat and encouraged her to sit down. Going to the cupboard he pulled down what he needed with his good arm and passed some of it to his left hand.

 

"Sorry if this hurts." He said softly as he held her hair back with his left hand and dabbed at the graze to her right temple with the disinfectant to clean it up. Lucia winced a little when he first touched it, she had almost forgotten how much wound cleaning hurt. The disinfectant as always stung like buggery. She watched as he tried to be as gentle as possible, "That arm is coming along well, how's the pain?" she asked as he reached for a wound dressing and then covered it with a clear adhesive to keep it in place. "Pretty well gone now, working on getting range of motion back again. Hopefully it won't be long and I'll be cleared for rehab." Virgil gave it a little stretch and showed her the range of motion he had regained before he went about tidying up what he had taken out. "Might even be allowed to play the piano again soon too." Lucia could tell that would make him feel somewhat better and give him something else he could do outside of rehab while he regained his strength so that he could return to duty. "Maybe when you have the all clear we could play together." Lucia suggested as she touched the dressing on her head with her fingers. "Yeah, I'd like that." Virgil replied with a smile, it would be really nice to have someone to play with. Standing up Lucia tidied up the remaining mess and turned back towards Virgil. "Should probably try go get some sleep." Lucia said with a yawn and a stretch, now that she actually thought about it she was really tired. "Yeah, I'll walk you to your room." Virgil said as he finished cleaning, walking over to her he offered her good his arm with a soft smile. Taking his elbow gently, Lucia leaned against his arm and let him guide her to her room. Lucia opened the door to her room to see Gordon sitting beside a sleeping Ellie in her bed. "Good, you're back. She's only just gone to sleep." He said with relief when he saw them. Letting go of Virgil's arm, Lucia reached up to press a kiss to his cheek, "Thank you." She said softly before moving towards Gordon, she squeezed his shoulder as she reached down to brush the hair from Ellie's face. "Thanks Gordo, I got her now. Go get some sleep" She said reassuringly as she stood again and after grabbing herself some pjs, ushered the boys out. They both stood in the doorway staring at her for a long moment, as if convincing themselves they weren't dreaming and that she was really still with them. Putting her pjs on her bed Lucia walked back over to them and put a hand on their cheeks, "I'll still be here in the morning, now try get some sleep. If you need us we will be here." She gave them the most reassuring smile she could muster before closing the door and listening to their footsteps as they walked away.

 

She left her pajama's on her bed and turned on the shower, she was tired but she was also filthy. Neither did she think oil soot was a particularly good look on fresh bedsheets either. She looked down at her uniform she had just taken off. She would have to make sure she got it to Brains first thing in the morning so he could see about repairing it before their next rescue. Slipping into the shower she let the hot water wash away the dirt and grime and soothe her aching muscles. It was again in the shower when everyone was asleep that she let herself cry, her sobbing hidden by the sound of the water hitting the walls and floor. She sat collapsed on her knees tears being washed away by the water over her head. She lost track of how long she sat there under the running water but when the tears finally began to abate she dragged herself upright and finished off washing her hair. Now she really felt exhausted, both physically and emotionally as she almost tripped over the lip of the shower as she moved to step out. Drying herself off she went to her bed and pulled on her pajamas. Lucia didn't really bother setting them straight and instead just collapsed into her bed. It was only a matter of moments before it was lights out for her and she was asleep.

 

* * *

 

 

There was smoke everywhere and she could barely see a thing, it was choking her every breath and making it hard for her to even move. It felt like she was pinned down by something and every scream of hers was thwarted by a coughing fit. It didn't matter how hard she tried to keep herself calm, all she could feel was the panic rising in her. The panic that rendered her breathless and further drained what little energy she had. The harder and longer she fought, the more hopeless everything seemed to be. She screamed, louder this time, screamed names as well. But no one came. Sheer dread descended on her now and Lucia found her screams would no longer come. It was with sudden realisation she came to see she was all alone. It was at that moment Lucia sat bolt upright in bed gasping for breath. For a moment she was disorientated, but eventually she came to notice her surroundings and relief flooded her. It was all just a dream, but what an awful and horridly vivid dream it was. Looking across she saw Ellie, still sleeping and oblivious to her surroundings. If anything Lucia was glad she seemed to be sleeping well at least, she had expected to be woken up by Ellie. Looking to her other side she checked the time. 04:00 the number read across the screen in its glaring little red lines. Well, despite the nightmare it seemed as though she had slept somewhat well herself. It was only another hour or so until she would usually get up for her run with Scott. Not much point in trying to get herself back to sleep. Sliding out of bed Lucia slipped into her running gear, before she went to the door she put her shoulder on Ellie's and gently shook it until the girl looked up at her with sleepy eyes. "Ellie, I'm just going out for a run and some fresh air okay. I just didn't want you to freak out if I wasn't there when you woke up." Lucia said softly and received a bleary smile from Ellie, "Yeah.. Thanks Lucia.. have fun." It was enough to let Lucia know she had heard her and she watched as Ellie snuggled back under the blankets and drifted off to sleep.

 

Straightening up, she slipped out of the door barefoot, socks in her pocket. She would put her runners on when she reached where she left them hanging near the door. Walking down the hall she passed the boys rooms on her way towards the roof that would give her one of her favourite views of the island. She knew which door belonged to who, though the only room she had actually been in was Alan's when she was asked to wake him up one morning. She remembered the event with a snicker as she pass by his door. She continued on her way until she reached the door which would her crawl out onto the part of the roof, she had been shown one night by Scott. Not only did it have the best view of the island it was mostly where he or Alan went to star at the stars. Whenever John was home he would use it too. Right now staring at the stars and taking in some fresh air was sounding like a good idea. Lifting herself up through the hatch she crawled onto the roof and settled down in the spot she had come to claim as her own. Leaning back she looked up at the stars that lit the sky above her. Tracy Island had very little external lights of a night or even early morning, so there was nothing to interrupt the clear view of the sky above.

 

"You're up early, are you okay?" the voice came from the very blond head that had just popped up through the same hatch she had only recently crawled through. "John! I thought you had gone back to 5!" Lucia had not expected to see anyone else come up here that early, let alone to see John in the flesh. She watched as he climbed the roof to sit beside her. "Dad wanted me to stay the night but I was just about to head back" Lucia smiled at him, though she was wondering who was watching to see if they were needed. "I've got any alerts diverted to the desk we have here, this'll let me know if anything comes up." He added after seeing her puzzled look, indicating to the small headset he was wearing in one ear. "Can't sleep?" he asked as he watched her look back up to the sky. "Bad dream actually." Lucia admitted, almost embarrassed that the dream had scared her so much she was afraid to go back to sleep again.

 

"Yeah, that'll do it. Want to talk about it?" He asked in his usual laid back tone as he lay down against the roof next to her and stared up at the stars. Lucia stayed sitting and drew her knees into her chest with a deep breath and rested her chin on top of them. "I had a dream about being trapped back there, you know when you couldn't hear me or find me. Only this time I couldn't see or breathe and no one could hear me no matter how hard I screamed. And then I couldn't scream anymore and then when I realised I was alone and no one would come I woke up. I don't want to close my eyes again in case I go back there again." Lucia's usually strong voice began to tremble, if there was one valuable lesson she had begun to learn from her time living there is that everyone spoke to each other and depended on each other. She knew there were somethings they never told but even so they were always there for each other. They were so very much a reminder of the home she once had. They were the home she craved to have again and very much were they all becoming family to her. John pushed himself back up and reached out to place a hand on Lucia's shoulder. He wasn't really sure what he could say to her, even with his brothers he was sometimes at a loss for words in trying to comfort them. It was mostly why those physical touches came to be, when words could not be found. A mere touch to the arm, hand on the shoulder, a tight hug or even a shoulder bump were often enough to convey ones feelings and bring comfort to the other. A simple gesture that said 'Hey I'm here. It's going to be okay.'

 

They both sat there in silence for the longest time, staring up at the stars above them. Lucia was always amazed at how such a simple gesture could bring such great comfort. There was a buzz from John's wrist and he looked down, "Speaking of bad dreams, do you mind checking in on Virgil for me. I got to go wake Alan and let him know I'm borrowing 3 for a few days until his hands are good." He pulled his hand back away from her shoulder and slowly standing made his way down towards the hatch, pausing only to turn back and offer Lucia his hand. "Yeah, sure." Lucia of course couldn't say no, you always helped if family was in trouble. Reaching out she took John's hand and let him guide her down the roof to the hatch. Now that her feet were on the ground inside again, John pulled her into a tight hug. "Take care okay." He whispered into her ear. He was off and walking towards Alan's room before she could even reply.

 

Taking a deep breath she made her way towards Virgil's room, leaning against the door she could hear movement and noise. "Virgil, you awake?" Lucia asked after she knocked gently on his door. The noises continued despite the fact she got no answer, they didn't sound like good noises either. So her work side won out over her more apprehensive home side and she slowly opened the door and slid inside his room closing it again behind her. Slowly she walked barefoot across his carpet and towards his bed where he lay sprawled out over the queen size bed, head tossing and turning and legs kicking at the tangled mess of his blankets around them. Reaching out she caught the swing of his good arm by the hand and as she came to sit on the side of the bed she pressed her other hand against his forehead. "Virgil, It's okay. It's just a dream." She said as she gently stroked his forehead with her hand. It seemed to ground him and bring him back to reality in his dream and Lucia watched as his eyes began to flicker open. They appeared to have trouble focusing on her at first but soon he came to be aware of his surroundings and eventually just lay there watching her.

 

He let go of her hand and reached up to touch her faced and brush the hair back so he could see the dressing he had applied to her head only earlier that night. "You're okay" his voice was croaky with sleep and residual emotion. Though his room was dimly lit she could see what looked to be tears beginning to well in his eyes. His hand pulled her down onto his chest and he held her there. She could hear the racing of his hard and his short shallow breathing as he tried to reign in the tears. "Sorry, I'm just so glad you're alive." His voice had a hitch in it as he squeezed her closer with his good arm. There was almost something strange in the way they had all acted, there complete and utter relief at seeing her alive and their panic at losing sight of her at first. She didn't say anything but just sat there bent over and pressed to his chest. Silence befell them again and neither of them spoke a word. Lucia could still hear Virgil's racing heartbeat beneath her ear from where her head rested on his chest. "Bad dream?" she eventually asked, as she twisted her legs out from how they were uncomfortably under her and stretched herself out along the edge of the bed beside him.

 

"The worst, I thought you were really gone and that I had only dreamed that you were okay." He admitted as he loosened his arm around her and let her get more comfortable. "How did you know?" he then asked after, realising she had managed to come in at the right time to rescue him from his dreams. "I had a bad one myself, I met John while I was sitting on the roof watching the stars. Said I should check in on you, cause he had to go back to five." Lucia explained as she lay beside him, her head still resting on his chest where he had put it. Well that certainly explained it, John had usually always been the one to check in on them via holo if any of them appeared to be having a bad night. Even as a kid he always had a sixth sense for knowing when any of his brothers, either older or younger were in trouble. Then without fail he would come to their aid. Even now on rescues he was that voice in their ear making sure they all stayed safe. Giving them updates on the situation, their guardian angel. Almost as if on cue they could hear the engines of three fire up and as normal everything shook. Lying there both listened until they could no longer hear three's engines. "Do you want me to stay or are you okay?" Lucia asked as she took a quick glance at his clock after it had fallen silent again. There was still a while yet before she would be meeting Scott for their morning run, though she was fairly sure he would forgive her if she wasn't there to make it. "Stay, please." She heard him quietly reply. In each other's presence they both, much to their later surprise found sleep. Neither of the woke until some hours later, when the sun had already risen in the sky. She had missed her run with Scott, but at the same time no rescues had yet been called. It remained like that for the rest of the day and into the night. In fact there seemed to be a quiet lull in the rescues for the next few days after, most of them only needing Scott attending to sort them out.


End file.
